Best of Me
by Piper71
Summary: Sometimes helping someone can be hard...but not helping them can be even harder. JackOC
1. Bobby

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from four brothers (im working on it though)except any OC's I bring in…

A/N: this is a lot lighter than other ff's and definitely lighter than the movie, but what can I say? I'm a sucker for bad boy/good girl combinations. So if you want something different, don't read this.

* * *

Bobby Mercer quietly opened the door to his house and slowly clicked it shut behind him. It was nearly two in the morning and he knew his mother would literally kick his ass if she caught him sneaking in so late. 

Evelyn Mercer knew better than to put her sons on a strict curfew, but they knew better than to come in past one, even if they technically didn't live in the house anymore.

Bobby crept up the stairs slowly, wincing whenever a step creaked from the pressure of his boots. At the top of the stairs, he stooped and slid his worker boots off, carrying them with him as he tip-toed to his old bedroom.

Just as his fingers had curled around the cold doorknob to his room, Evelyn's door swung open and he cringed. "Hey, Ma." He sighed.

She pulled her thick robe around her and knotted the rope at her waist, walking forward with a stern expression on her face and her arms crossed. Bobby was sure she was going to reprimand him for sneaking in late, or possibly for not even telling her that he was out of jail.

"You could have told me you were coming." She said, breaking into a smile and taking his face into her hands. She kissed his head and he smiled and hugged her, hiding his yawn.

"I just need a place to stay for a while, Ma. Just until I get on my feet again." He said, before she could say anything else.

"Well, of course you can stay here, Bobby. You know that." Evelyn said, smiling fondly at her oldest son. "Now get to bed, you're getting up early to help your brother with the yard. I haven't been able to tend to it lately; too many cases to work on."

"Sure, Mom, no problem." Bobby allowed himself to yawn now, and Evelyn kissed his head again before retreating back into her own dark bedroom.

Bobby pushed his bedroom door open and kicked it closed behind him, dropping his shoes on the floor as he tripped over to his bed in the corner and fell onto it. Only moments after his head hit the pillow was he deep in sleep.

* * *

Bobby woke up the next morning around eleven and changed into an old pair of jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt before trudging down the soft carpeted stairs and down the small hallway to the kitchen. His younger brother, Jack, was sitting on a stool at the counter in the kitchen, reading a section in the newspaper as he scooped cereal into his mouth. He heard footsteps and turned his head. 

When Jack saw Bobby, he jumped out of his stool. "Jesus, Bobby." He said, sounding winded like he had been scared by a ghost or something.

"Hey, fairy." Bobby smiled, walking forward and giving Jack a slap-on-the-back hug. Jack slapped him back and shook his head.

"You get out on good behavior or something?" He asked with a smile, sliding back onto his stool and picking his spoon up.

Bobby glared at him as he walked to the refrigerator and opened it. "You have milk on your chin." He said flatly and Jack wiped his chin with his shirt sleeve.

"How long you staying this time?" Jack asked, spooning more Cap'n Crunch into his mouth.

"I don't know yet, Jackie." Bobby sighed, pouring orange juice into an empty glass. He took a big sip and swallowed it. "So what's wrong with the yard?"

Jack blinked at Bobby, then swung his head and looked out the kitchen window to the back yard. Bobby followed his gaze and saw the dead flowers and long reed-like grass that had grown in out of neglect.

"Mom hasn't had a lot of time to garden lately." Jack shrugged, not seeming too bothered by it. "She's got some case about a girl with turret's who was discarded by her parents on the doorstep of the adoption center. You know how she gets." He explained and Bobby nodded knowingly, finishing off the orange juice and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Ma wants us to take care of that today." Bobby said and Jack's shoulder slumped.

"But I was going to go by Ricky's today." He said, speaking of a music store in town.

"We'll go there later. Go brush your teeth and meet me out back." Bobby ordered and Jack leaned over the counter to drop his empty bowl in the sink before jumping off the stool. Bobby ruffled his messy dirty blond hair as he passed him. "Maybe we'll get you a hair cut, too." He called as Jack bounded up the stairs.

Both brothers stared at the tiny, unruly yard like they were about to tackle Mount Everest.

"This won't take long, will it?" Jack asked, rolling his shoulders under his shirt to get it to settle correctly on his back.

Bobby clapped him on the shoulder. "Not if you work quickly."

* * *

While Bobby mowed the lawn with an old-fashioned roll mower, Jack weeded the garden. He pulled dead flowers out of the dry dirt and poured new soil with special fertilizer that was stored in the garage onto the garden beds. Evelyn had bought a few flowers early that morning and left them on the back stoop. 

Bobby paused from his mowing and smiled as Jack lifted two tulips from their black plastic holder and set them carefully in the small hole he dug up.

"You're pretty good in the garden, Jackie. Your boyfriend teach you that?" Bobby asked with a grin. Jack turned and threw dirt at him, rolling his eyes.

"Will you ever stop with the gay jokes?" He asked, like Bobby was an immature kid and he was a proper adult.

"Just keep working," Bobby laughed, pushing the mower forward again.

* * *

They finished around one o'clock and were speeding in Evelyn's station wagon by one fifteen. On days that her boys would need the car, Evelyn would gladly take the bus to work because the bus stop was only a few blocks over. Bobby wouldn't let Jack drive, no matter how much he tried to convince him that he was a good driver. 

After a few moments, Jack sat up in his seat from where he had been hunched over. "Hey, hey, Bobby, Ricky's is the other direction." He looked at Bobby, his eyes wide. "Where are we going?"

"Shut up, Jackie." Bobby said flatly, parking poorly on the side of the road, one wheel pushed up over the curb. Jack shook his head but didn't argue; he knew that when Bobby wanted to do something, there was nothing anybody could do to stop him.

Jack started to get out of the car but Bobby slammed his door shut and shook his head. "Stay here,"

"But—"

"Just stay here." Bobby insisted before walking up onto the sidewalk and yanking the door to a store open. Jack sat in the car, his knee jiggling as he bit on the side of his thumb, waiting for the sound of shots or shouts or anything to show that Bobby was getting what he wanted.

Jack reached into his back pocket and pulled a small tin case the size of a cigarette pack out. He opened it and pulled out an already-made joint and a lighter. As Jack light the joint, he looked over his shoulder out the back window of the car, checking to see if anyone who might cause trouble for Bobby was coming. Strangely, the streets and sidewalks were completely empty.

Jack faced forward again and blew smoke out of his mouth, his leg jiggling more violently now. This was how it had always been; Jack had always been forced to stay out of the bigger situations, the dangerous ones, while his older brothers dove in head on. Jack knew they were protecting him in their own twisted way, but he could handle fighting and guns and weapons. He _had_ been around them nearly his entire life and he knew perfectly well how to protect himself.

Bobby walked straight through the movie store and headed towards the back. Mark Efrels saw Bobby with the familiar determined look on his face and jumped over the counter where he had been helping a customer.

"Bobby, you shouldn't be here." He said quickly, darting in front of Bobby and blocking the doorway that led to the back.

Bobby didn't even look at him as he shoved Mark out of the way.

"Bobby, he's not here. He's not here!" Mark shouted at Bobby's back as he twisted the doorknob and pushed the door open. Inside were two men, surrounded by smoke as they played a game of poker.

The two men looked up, and one of them smirked. "Bobby, nice to see you back in town." He said smugly.

Bobby glared at him. "Shut the fuck up, Roger, you know why I'm here." He said coldly.

The other man, glanced at Carl Roger and then at Bobby's hard face, and pushed his chair away from the table, wanting to get away but also not wanting his friend to think he was ditching him.

"What?" Roger asked, pushing his cards together and holding them in one hand as he leaned his chair back casually, pompously. "You up for a little Texas Hold 'Em?"

Bobby reached behind his back and pulled a sleek, silver gun out of the back waistband of his jeans, holding it carelessly in his hand.

"We could make this hard, Roger—you know how I like it—but I'm giving you the chance to make it easy…enough." He said, with a shrug and a half smile. Bobby wasn't blind to the flash of fear in the man's cold gray eyes, but he didn't think for a second that Carl Roger would back down. Especially when there were eye witnesses to see his white flag waving.

Carl stood up, smiling a little. "Come on, Bobby, we've known each other long enough for me to know you would never actually shoot me." He said, sliding his hands into his pants pockets and puffing on the cigar in his mouth.

Bobby gritted his teeth, the gun still waving around and making the man in the corner flinch. "You're probably right, I mean, I take my baby out whenever I'm in good company." He said sarcastically. Bobby wasn't in the mood for games, but he could let Carl gain a little confidence before knocking it all out of him.

"Bobby, Bobby, Bobby," Carl said, shaking his head and gripping the back of the wooden chair he had recently located with his hands. "You really shouldn't mess around with me; you don't know what's been going on around here since you left."

Bobby didn't smile. He was finally sick of Carl and his smugness. "All I want is my money; you give me that and I'll walk away and you won't have a scratch on your porcelain skin."

Carl's smile faded. "Bobby, you know I don't have that kind of money." He said, sounding scared now.

Bobby's eyebrows raised and he glanced around the room, shrugging. "Did you gamble it all away, because I think I remember setting you up for a good five grand."

Carl licked his lips nervously. "Bobby, I can get the money…but I just…I need time." He said quickly, tensing as Bobby crossed the room in two strides, knocked the table out of the way easily, sending cards and pokey chips flying, and grabbed Carl's throat, thrusting him against the wall.

"You give me the money by tomorrow or your dead, Roger. You hear me? You're _dead_." Bobby squeezed the man's throat and then let go, standing back and rubbing his nose. "Or I could get my baby brother in here right now and have him search your pockets—I know how much both of you would like that."

Bobby stalked out of the room, stuffing his gun back behind his jacket, without a second glance around the room. When he walked through the movie store, Mark didn't say anything, just pretended not to see him.

When Jack saw Bobby come out onto the sidewalk and walk to the car, he sat up straighter, blowing smoke out of his mouth. He looked over at Bobby as he slid into his seat and slammed the door shut behind him.

"You get what you want?" Jack asked, licking his dry lips.

Bobby cracked his neck as he started the car up again. "Not yet, but I will." He glanced at Jack and his eyes flicked to the joint. "Like you aren't fucked up enough, fairy." He said, pulling out of the poor parking spot.

* * *

**A/N** I don't really know what that means, lol, but everyone does it and they usually say something about the story so i figured i'd give it a try. 

ummm don't ask about the title, cause i don't know why i named it that except i have a few ideas about it being explained later in the story...i'll try and take awhile to get to the main plot because no books get straight to the point, because it would be like 2 pages long. but i dunno, ive tried that before and its mighty difficult, i won't lie.

this is the first four brothers fanfic i've done and i havent seen the movie in a while tear tear but im working on it. don't be too mean, because really, if you hate it that much, there's no point in flaming me. if its bad it shouldnt be worth your time.

okay this **A/N** thing is pretty shnazy...


	2. You Don

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the four brothers characters…sadly

**A/N** not many reviews, but thanks a lot to those who did since it was only up for a little while and I couldn't wait to update for the sake of fun. I figured out what **A/N** means anyways, thanks to pwrhungryjr.

* * *

Jack was in a dark, dark tunnel. It was cold. He didn't have a jacket on. He was shaking, but it wasn't from the untraceable crisp air. Jack didn't know why he couldn't stop shaking. The blackness seemed never-ending; like it would go on forever and ever and he would be lost in that other dimension.

"Hullo?" He slurred, his tongue too thick to properly pronounce words. His voice was low and hoarse, barely audible. Jack was faintly remembering taking some sort of pill, and slowly, the scary blackness faded away and Jack found that he was leaning against a couch. He was sitting on the floor, his legs stretched out in front of him on the shaggy dark green carpet, and his head lolling back on a couch cushion.

Jack lifted his heavy head with great strain and looked around, blinking as he processed his surroundings. When he turned his head, Jack saw Lee Jensen with a too-thin black beauty on his lap, and her tongue in his mouth.

That wasn't a surprise, really. Jensen always had a chick on his lap.

Turning his head even more, so Jack could feel the muscles stretching taut on the opposite side of his neck, he saw his best friend, Drew, sitting on the couch, his bony knees parallel to Jack's head.

"Hey, man. You okay?" Drew asked lazily; smoke spilling out of his mouth.

"What the fuck did I take?" Jack asked, rubbing his forehead, the goose bumps on his arms finally smoothing out.

"Some of Marcus' shit," Drew laughed. "Who knows what kind of pills he gets. You were out cold, though."

"I don't like that shit," Jack groaned, jerking a shaky hand through his hair, and causing it to stick up even crazier than its usual unruliness.

"Stick to the good ol' stuff like me." Drew smiled, holding up his half-gone joint and leaning his head back against the couch. "Never gonna do you wrong, man."

Jack half-smiled and slowly stood unsteadily on his feet. "I gotta go." Jack felt heavy and drowsy, like he had just woken up with a killer hangover, as he climbed the stairs of Lee's basement. His hand gripped the railing and at the top, Jack pushed the door open and trudged through the small house to the front door.

Jack had just stepped down onto the first porch step when he looked up at the street for the first time, and stopped, one foot on the step, and the other on the porch still.

Two girl were stepping out of a shiny red VW Bug, looking very out of place in Detroit. The driver rounded the car and fixed her friend's shirt so it showed more of her flat torso.

"I don't know about this," The short of the two said, fidgeting with her dirty blond hair. She rubbed her lips together and adjusted her pants on her hips. Apparently, neither of the girls had seen Jack yet.

"You don't have to say anything, Nat. But you know I can't go in there alone." The more dominant one said, her dark brown hair falling over one shoulder as she leaned over and checked her makeup in the mirror on the side of the car.

"But maybe you shouldn't go in at all." Nat—most likely short for Natalie—whined, bouncing on her toes.

The other girl straightened and looked at her friend. Then she said something that Jack couldn't hear, took her friend's hand and started up the front walk. Jack had descended the rest of the steps by then and was fiddling with his lighter, walking slowly and deliberately.

As the girls neared Jack, he raised only his eyes, pulling a cigarette pack out of his back pocket and shaking on halfway out. Locking eyes with the girl with the long brown hair and pale skin, jack lifted the pack to his mouth and when he pulled it away, there was a cigarette between his lips.

The girl bit her lip-glossed bottom lip, eyeing Jack carefully. She stopped walking, and her friend stopped with her. Natalie gave the girl a questioning look, pleading with her eyes to get in the house and out as quickly as they possibly could. But her friend wasn't looking at Natalie, or even paying attention to her.

"Is Marcus here?" She asked suddenly, glancing around quickly.

Jack lit his cigarette and took a long drag, his mind working slowly as he looked at the two obviously rich girls. He hated rich people. With their shiny credit cards, and always-clean cars bought by their richer-than-rich daddies. Their maids were his friends' mothers, and their gardeners were his friends' uncles. Rich people thought they were better than everyone else because they could buy anything they wanted, and expected that to keep them happy.

"Might be." He shrugged, blowing smoke into the air in disinterest. He didn't really want to be bothered by a bunch of sixteen-year-old daddy's girls.

The girl half-smiled, while her friend looked at Jack nervously; like he might pounce at any second. "You didn't see him?"

"Might have," Jack said, looking at their expensive car. He noticed that the black canvas hood had been put into place over the convertible, even though it was a perfectly warm summer day. That just proved how rich people expected everyone that might not have as much money to want everything that they could never have. "Can't remember."

The girl regarded Jack, her blue eyes slightly narrowed, her lips pursed, one eyebrow raised. "Let's go, Natalie. Marcus is probably inside." After one last look at Jack, the girls climbed the steps and disappeared through the front door.

Jack smiled at the car as he walked past it, shaking his head at his reflection in the perfectly cleaned window. "Fuckin' rich people."

* * *

"Jackie boy," Bobby shouted from outside Jack's room, hitting his fist against Jack's door. "You decent?"

"Yeah," Jack sighed, dropping his ratty notebook under his bed. He had been trying for hours to write a semi-decent song but apparently the stars weren't aligned correctly that day, because he couldn't get the tune of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" out of his head.

Bobby opened the door and leaned against the doorframe, looking at Jack. "You been up here for hours, what are you doing?"

"None of your business." Jack grunted, leaning back against the pillows on his bed.

"Well, it's only my second night back in town so I was gonna go down to Red's and see what was happening down there. Wanna come?" Bobby asked.

Jack looked at him suspiciously. No gay jokes, no teasing about his music, not even a little remark about his outfit that day; jeans with a chain on his dull-spiked belt, and a band T-shirt under his dark blue zip-up hoodie. On most days, Bobby would accuse Jack of being a gay wanna-be rock star and say something about the "ridiculous" chain on his belt.

"Sure," Jack shrugged, not wanting to get Bobby out of his strange mood. "Whena re you leaving?"

"Now," Bobby smiled and turned to leave Jack's room. He stopped and grabbed the door frame, turning back around. "But sorry, Jackie, it's not a gay bar."

Jack glared at Bobby and stood up. He pushed Bobby out the door and followed him down the stairs. Jack would never admit it, but all the times his older brothers had gone out without him, to bars or clubs or wherever the hell they went, he stayed up all night until they got home, wondering what they were doing. It wasn't everyday Jack got invited to see the secret world of his brothers, the one he didn't know about.

It turned out that the only reason Bobby brought Jack to the club, was so that he could ditch him. At least, that's how it seemed to Jack.

Jack didn't have a fake I.D. because it was easy getting alcohol in Detroit, but Jack had also never tried getting into a bar. Jack's idea of a good time was getting high and drinking beer in the basement of someone's house. He hadn't really given much thought to bars.

But the bouncer took one look at Bobby, and let Jack in without a moment's hesitation. At first, Jack was stoked because he was in a bar, he was with his older brother whom he hadn't seen in almost three years, and he was surrounded by a lot of hot older women.

And then Jack turned his back for one minute, and when he turned back, Bobby was gone. It didn't take long to find him, though. All Jack had to do was search the booths against the far wall for good-looking women who were seemingly alone and he would find Bobby.

Jack moved through the crowd and walked casually down the line of booths. There were girls in groups, girls with guys, girls alone—ones that Bobby wouldn't pay any attention to, though—and then, sure enough, Jack saw Bobby at the last booth, leaning his hand against the tabletop and talking with a very pretty blond-haired girl a few years older than Jack.

Jack shook his head and pushed his way to the bar, not wanting to interrupt Bobby and his soon-to-be-one-night-stand. Bobby had found a girl, and without words, Jack knew he had to disappear. Jack always knew when to disappear. He ordered a beer, and fiddled with his lighter like he always did when he was either bored or nervous.

Jack saw an older girl making her way through the throngs of dancing and socializing people, her eyes set on him. He looked back down at his hands, willing her to go away and find someone else to hit on.

But Jack's telecommunication didn't work, and the girl sat down on the bar stool next to him, crossing her long, thin legs neatly and leaning on one hand as she looked at him.

"You look a little young to be in here," She said with a playful smile, leaning close so that he could hear her over the loud hip hop music.

Jack shrugged and looked at the dance floor. He had to admit that he was a little disappointed that this was the exciting, untouchable night life that his brothers chose. Frankly, it wasn't really his scene. Jack felt like his ears would start to bleed at any second due to the annoying rap and hip-hop music that was blasting out of the speakers.

"You don't really look like you're having a good time, either." The girl went on, ignoring the fact that Jack was blatantly not paying attention to her.

"I don't usually hang out here," Jack said flatly, still not looking at her. This girl looked like another rich Beverly Hills type, just coming to Detroit for a little fun and games.

She pulled her long black hair over one shoulder, and twirled it around her finger seductively. "We could get out of here, if you want." She said with a wink.

Jack narrowed one eye so quickly that it looked a little bit like a twitch—something he always did when he was doubting someone. "You know," He said slowly, standing.

"Yeah," The girl smiled, about to stand also.

"I really gotta take a piss."

"Okay…I'll be here when you get back." She called after him in a sing-song voice that made Jack shudder. He really felt like he might be sick.

In the bathroom, Jack looked around, his eyes honing in on a small window at the top of the wall. It was a long shot, but Jack was willing to do anything to stop the headache he was sure was coming on.

Hoisting himself onto the radiator, Jack gripped the window ledge with his long fingers, thankful of his height for one of the few times in his life. Usually, Jack didn't like how tall he was because he was teased about it not only by the kids at school, but also by his brothers. Not to mention the fact that he would probably always be skinny, more like his brother Jerry than Bobby and Angel, his other older brother.

Jack pushed the window open and pulled his upper body through it, wincing only a little when the bottom of the window frame dug into his ribs. Jack was halfway through the window when he realized that he had a pretty long fall, and his head would be first to hit.

"Shit," He muttered to himself.

"What the fuck?" A voice said from inside the bathroom. Jack tried turning around and looking in the bathroom, but his hands slipping and he fell through the window, falling to the hard concrete. Jack landed on his side, and was able to think fast enough to keep his head from hitting the sidewalk.

"Are you okay?" A head popped up at the window and Jack stood up and brushed himself off. He saluted the guy and nodded.

"Just dandy," He said sarcastically, turning and walking away, a small limp in his left leg. Jack leaned against the brick wall near the alley and pulled his pant leg up to check the damage done on his knee. It felt like it had been dislocated, but when he looked, all Jack could see was a nasty scrape and a bruise that was already forming.

Jack lifted his head, letting his pant leg drop, and leaned his head against the cool brick wall. He shook a cigarette out of his almost-empty pack and lit it, taking as long a drag as he could without coughing.

"Jack!" A voice called from a car that was slowly creeping down the street. Jack looked over at the shiny, black SUV, smoke seeping out of his lips as he pushed off the wall and walked to the curb of the sidewalk.

"What the hell are you doing, Marcus?" Jack asked, bending over a little to peer inside the open window of the car. He could see a girl in the back, the same girl with the dark hair that had shown up with her friend at Lee's house that afternoon. Her eyelids were half-closed and she had a delirious smile on her face as she slurred her words and fell over everyone's laps. As far as Jack could tell, her friend wasn't there.

"Oh, man," Jack shook his head. "You know I ain't into the gay sex thing," He said with a smile.

Marcus, who was sitting in the passenger seat, laughed. "Sadie introduced us a few weeks ago. We picked her up at a party on Oak street and she asked for some fun so we took her back to Jensen's place." Marcus jabbed his thumb over his shoulder and Jack's eyes moved to the backseat, where Lee sat, his hand resting high on the girl's small thigh.

Marcus went on. "I've been dealing with her for a few weeks, but she's too much to handle right now and we ain't lookin' for her house or nothin'."

Jack raised his eyebrows. "What do I have to do with anything?"

"Well, we were just going ot drop her off at some bus stop, but then we saw you…" Marcus trailed off and the back door opened.

Jack stood up straight, backing up and shaking his head. "No, man, she's your problem. I am _not_ cleaning up your messes."

The girl fell out of the car and Lee helped her stand before hopping back in the car and slamming the door shut. Jack heard the doors lock and he looked at Marcus, a fire beginning to burn furiously in his eyes.

"Marcus, get this girl back in the fucking car and take her home." He growled, anger boiling inside of him. Did he look like he was in the mood to hold back a rich chick's blown out hair while she barfed in a trash can? How had this suddenly become _his _problem?

"I gotta go, man." Marcus shrugged. He leaned his head out the window and looked at the girl, who was stumbling a few feet away. "I'll see you next week!" He called after her before sitting back and signaling to the driver to step on the gas. The tires squealed as the car sped away and Jack turned, muttering angrily under his breath, to see the girl steadying herself against the brick wall he had recently been leaning against. She giggled and leaned back against the wall.

"What's your name?" Jack asked. He couldn't very well leave her there; Jack had been cursed with a conscience.

"Avey…Ivy…Avery. That's it; Avery." She slurred, her eyelids drooping.

Jack chewed on the inside of his cheek, on hand stuffed in his pocket while the other held his burning cigarette. Evelyn wouldn't be happy about how fucked up this girl was, but Jack knew she would be happy that Avery wasn't passed out on some bench in the depths of Detroit. The only thing Jack could come up with at that moment was taking Avery back to his house and letting his mother deal with her.

"Avery, I'm Jack. DO you have a phone?" He asked, slowly walking towards Avery. He threw the cigarette on the ground and crushed the flame with the toe of his beat up black Converse sneakers.

Avery looked up at Jack, reeking of vodka and some kind of perfume. "Are you going to take me home?" She asked, her blue eyes fluttering, struggling to stay open.

Jack licked his lips. "Do you want to go home?"

Avery smiled drunkenly and swayed to the side. "No,"

"Well, maybe you'll feel better once you get in bed." Jack said, eyeing the girl for signs of oncoming vomit.

"No, I won't." Avery said, sounding sober even though her eyes told Jack that she was completely wasted. "I'm not going home, soleavemealone." Her words ran together at the end, her head drooping.

Jack blinked and looked down the sidewalk, which was completely deserted. Avery's feet started sliding forward and before Jack could react, she plopped hard on her ass on the concrete, her back against the wall.

Avery hardly noticed the fall, because she was too busy fumbling through her designer purse for something. But before she could retrieve what she wanted, Avery pushed her bag off her lap, twisted to the corner of the building and threw up in the alley next to bar.

Jack grimaced as Avery heaved again; watching her stomach tense up and sympathizing with the pain she was going through. No one liked throwing up. Jack let out a little groan and then he crouched next to the girl and pulled her hair out of her face, ignoring the little pieces of vomit that had clung to her silky locks.

Jack sat there with Avery while she threw up what seemed like gallons of alcohol that she had consumed, not saying anything. He didn't know how long it was until she finally slumped back against the wall, mascara streaking her cheeks.

Jack glanced at her purse. He really hated purses; they were full of womanly secrets he didn't really care to find out about, but it seemed like a drastic moment. So Jack picked up Avery's purse and cautiously opened it. She didn't say anything. Her eyes were open but she didn't seem to be really seeing anything.

Jack reached inside and fished around. He figured all girls carried around tissue or something, and he was right. Avery had a small travel pack of tissues, unopened, with little hearts printed over them. Jack ripped the pack open and held a tissue out for Avery. Without blinking, Avery took the tissue and brought it to her mouth, tears welling in her eyes.

Jack bit on his bottom lip as Avery wiped her mouth, silent tears spilling down her already stained cheeks. When she was done, Avery's arm fell to her side and she slowly raised her eyes to Jack's face.

"I know you," She said hoarsely.

Jack scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, uh, I was at Jensen's house this afternoon when you and your friend came." He nodded.

"You were high," She said blankly and Jack smiled.

"Just a little,"

Avery licked her lips and made a face. "Do you have a drink?"

Jack looked around. "No, but there's a drugstore across the street. I can get you something."

"Beer?"

Jack blinked at Avery. "I was thinking something more like water or coffee…"

Avery smiled sleepily. "Whatever."

"Will you be okay here by yourself?"

"Uh-huh,"

Jack jogged across the street. A girl like Avery had no business being in Detroit at all, let alone at night, hanging out with people like Marcus and Jensen. The crime and rape rates were no secret to anyone, especially the people who actually lived in Detroit, so Jack knew he couldn't leave Avery for that long.

He filled a cardboard cup with coffee and grabbed a water bottle from one of the glassed-in regrigerated sections, and paid for the drinks with his own money. As Jack was crossing the street, he looked at the sidewalk where Avery had been sitting, and saw that it was empty.

He ran the rest of the way across the street and looked around, it didn't take long to find Avery, since she could barely walk straight. All Jack had to do was chose a direction and trust his instincts. His instincts, it appeared, where right because he turned the corner and saw Avery walking along the wall of a building, her hand pressing against the brick for balance.

Jack fell into step beside Avery and she looked over, but didn't say anything.

"So I guess this is a thank-you," Jack said flatly, looking straight ahead as they walked.

"I didn't need your help," She said coolly, but she was still stumbling a little over both her feet and her words.

"That's good, because I really didn't want to help you. Here," Jack thrust both the water and the coffee in Avery's hands. She winced a little as the hot coffee splashed onto her arm, but didn't say anything.

Jack started walking away and then he stopped and turned around. "A little word of advice; don't get drunk around Marcus and his boys again, and you might want to stop buying from him. He sells some sick shit."

Once Jack was around the corner, he leaned against the wall and lit another cigarette. He wasn't going to leave Avery, even though she was a little more sober than she had been when he first found her. Avery rounded the corner and wordlessly leaned against the wall next to Jack.

Jack lit another cigarette and passed it to Avery. They didn't speak as they smoked, because, really, they had nothing to say to each other. When she was done with her cigarette, Avery tossed it on the ground and crushed it with the toe of her three-inch heels.

"Do you know a place I can stay tonight?" She asked, not looking at Jack as she spoke.

"I've got two extra rooms at my house," Jack said, and smiled when he saw Avery's eyes widen. She obviously didn't trust him too much. "My mom will be happy to put clean sheets on one of the beds for you."

Avery looked at Jack then, biting softly on her bottom lip. She nodded. "That's fine."

Jack started in the direction of his house, and Avery fell in next to him. Jack didn't know when Bobby would be going home, or if he would be going home at all, so he decided it would be better just to walk home.

When they reached his house, Jack opened the door and walked inside, leaving Avery to decide whether to come in or not. She stepped inside tentatively, glancing around. It didn't take long for her to relax, though, because the house was warma dn smelled good and had a cozy, homey feeling to it.

Evelyn walked in from the kitchen, looked at Avery, looked at Jack—who was stretched out on the couch watching an action movie—and then smiled and walked towards Avery.

"I'm Evelyn Mercer," She said kindly. "Would you like me to take your coat?"

Avery nodded and shrugged out of her coat, handing it over to Evelyn. Evelyn looked at the coat and smiled slightly. Then she took in Avery's messy, ruffled clothing. "Come on upstairs, you can wear some of my sons' sweatpants and we can put these in the wash."

Avery glanced at Jack, whose eyes didn't stray from the television, and then followed Evelyn up the stairs. Evelyn opened the hall closet and got out clean sheets, two towels, and an extra toothbrush. She showed Avery into Angel's room and gave Avery a pair of Jerry's old sweatpants and one of Bobby's hockey T-shirts.

Avery changed in the bathroom while Evelyn readied Angel's bed for her to sleep in. When Avery was done washing her face and brushing her teeth, she walked back into Angel's room and stood awkwardly in the doorway.

Evelyn pulled back the covers on the bed and smiled at Avery. "Make yourself at home, sweetheart. Do you want anything to eat or drink? I have a blueberry pie downstairs."

Avery gave Evelyn a small smile. "No, I'm fine, thank you. I think I'm just going to go to sleep, though."

Evelyn nodded. "Of course. Good night." Once the door was shut, Avery crawled into Angel's bed, breathing in the smell of boy that had stuck in the mattress after many years of use. Avery fell asleep quickly, hating herself for feeling the most comfortable and safe in a boy's bed. A boy she didn't even know.

* * *

**A/N** okay...i hope you all liked this, i know not much happened but i couldn't have anything major happen only the second chapter in! i already have an ending in my head, which always happens and i hate it because then i have to find a way to get there, but i think i'm going to do it this time because when i wrote the ending, i really liked it and actually cried a little which is pretty pathetic, but whatever. R&R please!


	3. Completely Me

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the four brothers, shocking, I know

**A/N **Hopefully this chapter will bring more reviews since something is actually happening….but, whatever, this is fun. Thanks a million to those who did review!

* * *

Avery woke up the next morning and took the towels that Evelyn had given her last night off the desk chair and carried them into the bathroom. She locked the door and turned the hot water on in the shower.

Avery pulled Bobby's T-shirt over her head and stepped out of Jerry's sweatpants. She wondered what it was like living in a big family, with older brothers that actually showed up every once in awhile. Avery forced her eyes to the mirror, and, blinking furiously, she took in the bruises on her ribs. The big one was turning a gross yellow color. The bruises on her upper thighs were fading now, thank God. Avery's eyes traveled to the finger-sized bruises on her shoulder and she shuddered, remembering. Avery made herself look until it was too painful to look anymore, and by then the mirror had steamed up from the heat of the shower.

Avery stepped into the shower and clenched her fists, squeezing her eyes closed as the hot water pelted her skin angrily, leaving it red and raw. Eventually, she grew numb the feeling of her skin burning without really burning, and tilted her head back into the flow of the water.

She had just finished rinsing the shampoo out of her hair when she heard the door shut. Avery's ears perked up and she froze, wondering if something was wrong with her hearing.

"Hello?" Avery called timidly, cupping her hands under the water and letting them fill with water.

"It's like a fucking sauna in here, turn the hot water down." Jack's voice said from the other side of the curtain.

"What the hell are you doing in here? I locked the door!" Avery said incredulously, wondering if Jack was going to join her in the shower or take pictures of her or something weird like that. It occurred to her then that she hardly even knew the guy. The first time she had seen him he had been so high he couldn't remember anything and the second time…well, she didn't really remember that all that well.

"Angel broke the lock a few years ago when Bobby holed up in here for a dump while Angel was trying to get ready for a date." Jack explained and Avery heard the toilet seat go up and held back a laugh when Jack started to pee.

"You couldn't have used another bathroom?" She asked, spitting water out of her mouth.

"There are no other bathrooms." Jack said easily. "And you've been in here forever."

Avery was silent for a few moments. One bathroom? How on earth did these people live like that? She picked up the conditioner bottle and squirted some onto her palm. "Are you going to be in here long?" She asked tentatively, wondering if she really wanted to answer.

"Nope," Jack said, at the same time the toilet flushed. Avery smiled, and then screamed as freezing water hit her skin. She had always heard in Health class that the worst thing to do after getting a burn was running it under cold water, but she didn't know it was actually _true_. The change from hot to cold was a very painful one, making her skin feel like it was actually on fire.

"Bastard," She muttered, rolling her eyes as Jack laughed and closed the door behind him.

Avery got out of the shower awhile later and dried off. She couldn't look in the mirror again, not for awhile, at least. She put the clothes she had slept in back on, and walked out of the bathroom, rubbing her damp hair. Avery stopped at the doorway of the bathroom and stared at a guy who was of a stocky build, standing shirtless in the doorway to a bedroom across the hall from the bathroom. He was staring back at Avery, his brown-red hair messy from sleep.

"Who the hell are you?" He asked rudely and Avery lowered the towel from her hair.

"I'm Avery, who are you?" She said, refusing to let him intimidate her.

The guy walked out of the doorway and a few steps closer to Avery. "I'm Bobby, and that's my shirt." He pointed at the shirt Avery was wearing and she looked down, tugging on the hem of the shirt.

"Um…Evelyn gave it to me to wear." She said slowly, looking back up at Bobby.

"What are you doing here?" Bobby demanded, following Avery as she walked so Angel's room. "Hey, I'm talking to you!"

Avery grabbed her bag form where she dropped it on the floor the night before and turned to the side to pass Bobby at the door. He reached to grab her elbow but she was too quick and had pulled it out of his grasp before he had a chance.

Bobby followed Avery down the stairs. "Hey, Ma!" He yelled, halfway down the staircase.

Evelyn appeared in the doorway of the living room and smiled at Avery, ignoring Bobby. "How did you sleep?" She asked kindly.

Avery gave Evelyn a small smile. "Fine, thank you." She said uncomfortably.

Bobby looked from Evelyn to Avery and then spotted Jack in the kitchen. He turned and walked down the small hallway to the kitchen. Jack was leaning against the counter, drinking a cup of milk at top speed.

"Who is that girl?" Bobby asked, jabbing his thumb over his shoulder.

Jack looked at Bobby lazily, still gulping the drink down. He slammed the cup down on the counter and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Avery," He said simply, scratching his head. Then he turned and walked into the living room.

"What the hell is going on today?" Bobby grumbled, following Jack. Bobby was used to people following _him_ and answering when he asked questions.

Evelyn had sat Avery down on the couch, and the girl shifted, running a hand through her nearly-dry hair. "Ma, what's going on?" Bobby asked, looking at Evelyn.

She looked at him, smiled at Avery, and then looked back at Bobby. "Bobby, this is Avery. She…stayed over last night." Evelyn said gently for the sake of Avery, but the look in her eyes told Bobby to drop it.

Not many people could get Bobby to follow their orders, but Bobby wouldn't disobey his mother, not when he knew the tricks she had up her sleeve to punish him. He muttered something under his breath and flopped down next to Jack on the couch.

"Do you want some breakfast?" Evelyn asked, smiling at Avery as she stood.

Avery shook her head. "No, thank you. I should be getting home, probably." She said politely. She wouldn't look at either Jack or Bobby.

"Are you sure? I can make you some pancakes or waffles." Evelyn offered, moving to the door leading to door leading to the foyer so she could go to the kitchen.

"You can make me some." Bobby said and Evelyn shot him a look, and then turned a sweet smile back on Avery.

"Stay for a little while, unless you're in a hurry?" Evelyn said, not wanting to pressure Avery into staying when she really didn't want.

Avery licked her lips and stuck her hands under her thighs. "Um…I really have to get going, actually. Sorry," she stood and hesitated. Avery wasn't used to being in houses where people didn't expect you to show yourself out. She wasn't used to hanging out in rooms where you could actually see the front door. And she definitely wasn't used to hanging out with mothers, no matter whose they were.

"I'll get your sweater." Evelyn said generously, catching on quickly to Avery's uncertainty. Avery followed after her. She glanced back at Jack, thinking of something to say. She couldn't say sorry…she didn't really know if she had done anything wrong, and she wasn't really the type to apologize.

"Thanks…" She said slowly, shrugging. "You know, for bringing me here." She glanced at Bobby, and then turned and walked out into the hallway to get in her car and go home.

Once the front door was shut, Bobby pounced. "Who was that girl?" He smiled at Jack. "Your 'girlfriend'? Because, Jackie, I understand if you're gay, and you don't have to bring girls by the house pretending they're sleeping with you, or anything."

Jack rolled his eyes. "You really need to get a new joke." He said flatly, standing and walking to the stairs. Bobby followed Jack to the bottom of the stairs.

"I'm serious, Jack, when you come out of the closet, I'm here for you. And I can get you a date, too!" He called, laughing when Jack's door slammed shut.

"Bobby Mercer, you should be ashamed of yourself!" Evelyn snapped, and Bobby turned to see his mother standing with her hands on her hips. A stern look in her kind eyes.

"Aw, Ma, I was just playin' with him." Bobby said, following Evelyn as she walked into the kitchen. "So what was that girl doing here anyways? She didn't really come with Jack, did she?"

"Yes, she did." Evelyn said simply, turning the hot water on in the sink and squirting some dish soap onto a sponge.

"Yeah, right," Bobby scoffed, leaning against the counter. He burped loudly and Evelyn rolled her eyes. As much as she loved her boys, they sure could be a pain in the ass sometimes.

"Bobby, go take the sheets of Angel's bed." Evelyn said, her back turned to Bobby as she scrubbed at a pan where she had cooked Jack's breakfast. Jack always got up early, no matter how late he stayed out at night, so he was usually the only one that got a good breakfast. Evelyn stopped cooking after nine but she had been willing to make an exception for Avery.

Bobby opened his mouth to argue but Evelyn looked at him, her eyes shutting him up. So he trudged down the hall and stomped up the stairs and stopped at Jack's doorway. Jack was sitting on his bed…reading a book.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Bobby asked, wondering if he was seeing things. He hadn't even known that Jack _could_ read, let alone _enjoyed_ it.

Jack glanced up. "Uh…reading a book?" He said, shrugging.

"What book?" Bobby asked, walking farther into the room and pulling Jack's desk chair out. He turned it around and sat on it, his legs straddling the back of the chair and his elbows leaning on the top.

"_The DaVinci Code_," Jack said, glancing at the book jacket, which lay on the desktop near Bobby. He stared down at it while Jack went back to the book.

"I don't understand…is this like required or something? For school?" Bobby asked, having trouble grasping the concept that his brother…a Mercer…was actually choosing to read a book. Or go to school.

"No," Jack said distractedly, his brow furrowed just slightly. "Why?"

"Well, I can't really see another reason for you reading." Bobby shrugged, leaning back in the chair and holding onto the back with his fingers. The chair creaked slightly, in a way that could either make you incredibly uncomfortable, or extremely comfortable. It was either a homey sound, or a scary sound, depending on your point of view.

"I just got into it a few months ago," Jack shrugged. "When I gave up coke."

Bobby regarded Jack, and then rolled his eyes. "So, what, you needed something to distract you? Like _romance novels_?" He taunted and Jack smiled at the page.

"Pretty much, yeah." He said in a voice that showed he was sick of Bobby hanging around and was only agreeing to get him to leave.

"Yeah, yeah, just don't start bringing your boyfriends around for reading sessions." Bobby said, walking to the door. "And Ma told me to tell you to take the sheets of Angel's bed."

* * *

Evelyn, Bobby and Jack showed up at Jerry's house around six that evening, looking their finest. Well, technically they weren't wearing anything out of the ordinary, but Jack and Bobby had brushed their teeth and put on deodorant and clean clothes, so that was saying something.

Jeremiah pulled the door open, smiling, and his eyes went straight to Bobby. Evelyn hadn't told Jerry about Bobby coming—of course she had warned Camille to cook a little extra food—because she knew the surprise would be exciting.

"Hey, Man, I didn't think I'd ever see you again." Jeremiah—Jerry—said finally, smiling and pulling Bobby into a hug. Bobby slapped his brother's back, stepping into the warm house.

"Nice crib you got here, little bro'." He nodded in approval, bending down to inspect a picture of his new niece, Daniela. She had been born a few months ago, when Bobby was still MIA, so this would be his first time meeting the girl.

"Don't touch anything," Jerry warned, pointing a finger at Bobby before hugging his mother and then Jack. "You need a little meat on your bones, Jackie." He said, pushing Jack inside the house.

Jack rolled his eyes, sauntering inside and flopping down on the couch. While Evelyn went into the kitchen to offer her help to Camille after hearing the baby cry, Bobby walked slowly around the fancy living room.

It seemed like Jerry had gotten all he had ever wanted; a good-natured, good-looking wife, a presumably beautiful baby girl, a nice house, and a good reputation. While Bobby couldn't remember a lot of the past five years, Jerry probably had scrapbooks or something that Camille made for them. Bobby had run from city to city, job to job, fistfight to fistfight, and made one hell of a record, and Jerry had made a life for himself.

"Is this a goddamn modeling agency, Jer?" Bobby asked, walking across the hearth and scanning the different pictures on the shelf. Set up oh-so-perfectly.

"What?" Jerry asked, looking over at Bobby, ready to defend himself.

"All these pictures are of Camille. She looks like she's posing in every single one. Is your house dedicated to her, or something?"

Jerry, a skeptical/annoyed look on his face, walked over to Bobby, shooting a look at Jack who was laughing on the couch. Jerry peered at the pictures, realizing only then how often he took pictures of Camille. He couldn't help it if he still found it a little hard to believe that he had found someone so…perfect.

Jerry was definitely no angel—the ones from Heaven, that is. He'd had his share of run-ins with the law, and he had more than a few dirty jokes up his sleeve and a lifetime of guilt haunting him, but he had more or less put all that behind him the moment he met the beautiful Camille.

Jerry had gone to the grocery store one day after his classes at the University for Evelyn because she had had a mild case of the flu and was sleeping. Bobby had tried to take the money Evelyn had left on the counter for himself, and even though Bobby kept insisting and promising that he was going to buy something other than beer, Jerry knew he was lying through his teeth and fought him for the money. With one last punch, a tricky one that Bobby wasn't expecting in his bottom right jaw, Jerry grabbed the money and high-tailed it out the door.

Jerry had been in the dairy isle, examining the different kinds of milk—what was the difference between 2 and Whole, anyways?—when a woman's voice offered help.

"Are you having trouble?" A soft, sweet, and somewhat amused voice said to Jerry's right. He looked up, his adorable puppy eyes growing wide when he saw the woman next to him.

_Sexy, beautiful, breathtaking, fantastic, amazing_…a list of adjectives ran through Jerry's fog-filled head as he tried to come up with something smooth to say.

"Milk," He said finally, his voice cracking. "It's um…complicated?"

The woman had laughed. "Most people like 2, but I prefer organic." She leaned down and picked up a carton of 2 and handed it to Jerry.

"Isn't all milk organic?" Jerry had asked cluelessly, his eyebrows rising. He put the carton in his cart, his eyes staying on the woman.

"No, most milk's loaded with artificial preservatives. This stuff," She help up a carton with a cow on the front and the name KITCHEN FARMS on the front, followed by, ORGANIC MILK. "Is fresh, straight from the cow." She added a wink at the end.

Jerry had smiled. "But is it good?"

"Of course!" She had laughed. She held her hand out. "I'm Camille."

"Jeremiah; Jerry, really."

And that was basically where their story began. Jerry had asked for Camille's number, and it was a pretty smooth ride between them from then on. The first time Camille met Jerry's brothers, she didn't like them. Or she didn't like the _idea_ of them, really. Messing with Jerry's life, bringing him into trouble, bringing back his past.

But Jerry had put that life aside and started up a new, respectable one, that revolved around Camille and his new baby girl.

"You wouldn't understand," Jerry said to Bobby now, turning and shaking his head.

"What, because my woman isn't selfish and possessive?" Bobby called as Jerry walked into the kitchen. Bobby looked at Jack. "He's gotten as soft as you,"

"Shut up," Jack rolled his eyes, standing as Camille called them for dinner. Bobby punched Jack's shoulder as they walked towards the door and Jack reeled back, surprising Bobby as always with his hidden strength as he pushed him back and caused Bobby to hit the wall with a thud.

But Bobby was up and following Jack, a smile on his face. "At least you've got some real man in you," He said under his breath as they took their seats.

Jack sat across from Bobby at dinner, looking up every once in awhile to shoot a look at Bobby, who made faces back at him. Jack stabbed his meat with his fork and stuffed it in his mouth, glaring at Bobby.

Evelyn smiled around at her boys, feeling almost complete. She ignored the immature way Bobby and Jack were acting, and her mind drifted to Angel, wondering if he would be coming back anytime soon. But then Bobby flung a piece of mashed potatoes at Jack from his fork and Evelyn had to turn and calm Jack down before his annoyance bubbled over the edge.

These, surprisingly, were the moments she loved the most; taking care of her boys. When they were off, growing older, doing things on their own, she worried a lot. But when they were with her, whether they were fighting and watching T.V, she felt more whole, more complete. Evelyn didn't care if they shouted or punched, as long as they were with her. Because when they were, Evelyn knew they could make it through anything; anything at all.

* * *

**A/N **Alright...a little random. But i didn't want to rush into anything too soon, but thats SO HARD. all i have in my head are ideas for one part of the story, a part i didnt want to get into yet. so i tore my brain apart and got a little something. sorry it's short, and doesn't realyl have a point, but im working up to the main thing. R&R! 


	4. Oh Dear You Look So Lost

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Four Brothers…… Also, i kind of forgot to mention this before which i know is a big no-no, but the titles for most of my chapters will be from a song called "Boston" by Augustana and i'm not profitting at all from it being on here, and i'm not claiming to have come up with the names myself.

**A/N** I'm going to bring in a lot of OC's, and I'm only warning you because I know a lot of people don't like OC stories, but I think it's necessary because it's my view of Jack's life when he was in high school. I don't really think that he spent all of his moments with his brothers, especially since they all seem a lot older than him and, from the impression I got from the movie, weren't around all that often. So, sorry if you hate OCs.

* * *

Jack had forgotten about Avery completely. It had been almost two weeks since he had brought her home and he wasn't expecting to see her again. In fact, he didn't _want_ to see her again.

But that's not what happened. Jack was walking up the sidewalk to Jensen's house one afternoon after school—not that he had gone, but Jensen went to private school, so he couldn't skip as often and Jack knew there was no point in going to his house anytime before three thirty in the afternoon.

He lifted his head from the sidewalk, a cigarette in his mouth, and saw Avery getting out of her red Bug. She was walking around the car when she saw him.

Avery hesitated, lifted her hand in a small, mystified wave, and then went on walking. Jack picked up the pace just a little, curious as to why she was there.

"Hey," He called out when she was climbing the porch steps. Avery stopped and turned, waiting for Jack to catch up.

She shielded the sun from her eyes. "Hey," She said, as if she were wondering why he was there.

"Um…what are you doing here?" Jack asked. He didn't see the point in beating around the bush.

"I'm looking for Marcus." She said simply, and Jack frowned.

"You're buying?"

Avery gave him an annoyed look, waiting for him to leave her alone. "Yeah," She said, raising her eyebrows as if to say, _"What are you going to do about it?"_

"You probably shouldn't; Marcus has been known to sell bad stuff." Jack informed Avery and she laughed as she continued up the porch steps.

"Thanks, _Dad_." She said, shaking her head and reaching the top. She stopped and turned around to look at him, sensing that he was still looking at her. "What?"

Jack shook his head and looked down at his feet as he took the steps two at a time due to his long legs. "Do whatever you want." He said, breezing past Avery and into the house.

"Yo, Jack, I got something for you!" Lee called from his spot on the Easy chair in the corner of the living room, rubbing his hand up and down Chloe Langdon's side.

"Hey, man." Jack nodded at Lee, and half-hugged his friend Tyrone the way all boys do these days. He heard Drew's high-laugh—the laugh Drew always sported when he was high—and chuckled.

"It's downstairs." Lee said, pushing Chloe off his lap and standing up. He walked to the basement door and Jack didn't look to see if Avery had come inside as he went down the stairs. She was on her own.

"I'm not lookin' to buy," Jack told Lee. "I'm covered."

"No, it's not like that," Lee smiled over his shoulder, reaching the carpeted floor and turning to the room. Jack followed Lee's proud gaze and saw a smile he knew he would never forget.

"Sadie," He said, not looking very happy.

Sadie Gates stood, looking even more confident and sophisticated than the last time Jack had seen her. "Hey, Jack, long time no see." She smiled.

Jack licked his lips and did the blink/squint thing he always did. Sadie caught that and smiled. "What are you doing here?" Jack asked, reaching over his head to hold onto one of the painted pipes that ran along the ceiling.

Sadie tossed her glosy dark brown hair over her shoulder. "We moved back," She said and Jack heard a girl's laugh upstairs. Without meaning to, he pegged it as Avery's and then looked back at Sadie.

"That's…pretty neat." He said dully, walking to the couch Drew was leaning up against, sitting Indian-style. His focus and concentration were on the television screen, his thumbs flying across the game controller in his hand as he played a video game.

"Don't look so excited to see me." Sadie teased, smiling at Jack as she leaned against the washing machine, which was conveniently laid out right behind the television. Lee's whole basement was a weird set-up. The staircase was in the middle of the room, if you turned to the left at the bottom, there were the washing machine and the back of the television, with the couch pushed against the wall. If you turned right, there was the dart board and the refrigerator where Lee and his brother kept all their beer. If you went straight, there was a door leading to the backyard.

"I can't say that I am." Jack said flatly. Of course, he had heard that Sadie was back in town because, of course, she was the reason he had even met Avery. Which was ironic, when he really thought about it. It didn't surprise Jack that Sadie was telling girls like Avery where and what to buy from guys like Marcus.

Sadie tilted her head to the side, a confident smile playing across her lips. She loved to push Jack's buttons. And she could tell when he was getting agitated because of the way he stared at one object—the television screen, this time—and played with his lighter. She's seen this fidgety state many times before, but it still gave her a little thrill.

"You could have called." She said, just a hint of accusation in her voice. Jack's eyes flicked up to her and he stood, about to leave, when Avery came down the steps. His eyes shot to her then, and then to her waist, where Marcus's hands were so conveniently placed. Like she was trying to prove that she could handle herself or something stupid like that.

Sadie looked from Jack to Avery and then smiled. "Avery! Hey, I didn't expect to see you for awhile." She said, walking over and giving Avery a hug. Jack sat back down on the couch, watching the game Drew was playing.

"Yeah…well, I had a really bad week." Avery said, shrugging. Marcus pulled her back against him and she didn't move away.

"I understand completely." Sadie said with a wink at Avery.

Jack's leg started jiggling and he took out the tin holder her kept his joints in and lit up, taking a few long drags and reveling in the feeling that was overcoming him.

When Drew died in the game and swore at the television, Jack slid to the floor and plugged in another controller. He and Drew started playing some racing game he couldn't remember the name of, and his mind was taken off of Sadie.

Jack and Sadie had known each other for only a few years but during the summer two years ago, when she first moved there, things got hot and heavy pretty quickly. Sadie came from California; she was different than the girls Jack was used to. She was shockingly beautiful, curvy in the right places and flat in the right places. She knew how to get a guy's attention without being overly obvious. There were times when Sadie was as sweet as honey, and then there were times when she wasn't so sweet. Jack and Sadie had never been serious, really. They were together, but they weren't dating. They didn't go out with other people, but they didn't call the other to check that it was okay they went out without them. In Detroit, things were done casually, and that was the way Jack liked it.

Commitment was overrated.

And then Sadie had moved away at the end of their sophomore year and that was it, basically. Jack was only pissed now because he had only recently realized how easy it was for Sadie to control him and he hated being controlled.

"Hey, Jackie." Jack's good friend, Emily Adams sighed, falling onto the couch behind Jack's and Drew's heads.

"What's up?" Jack asked distractedly, jabbing a button with his thumb. He wasn't too skilled with video games; Drew was the maniac.

"Just trying not to bitch slap those girls." Emily groaned, rolling onto her back. Jack smiled. Emily was a tomboy. She hated drama, she hated girls like Sadie and Avery, and she _hated_ fake people.

"Feel free to do whatever you want," Jack said and both Drew and Emily laughed.

"Sadie keeps looking at you like you're a piece of meat or something." Emily giggled, tugging at her short hair. She had cut it short one day at the beginning of the school year, and her mother had flipped out. Emily's mom was a hairdresser at a salon downtown and had forced Emily to let her snip it into a pixie cut that while not fitting Emily's personality, looked perfect on her small, heart-shaped face and tiny body.

"Sadie looks at everyone like that." Jack said, rolling his eyes and dodging a fireball that had been sent his way.

"Well, it looks like she's got a new friend to occupy her time. At least she won't be bothering me." Emily said and Jack nodded. What Emily really meant was that if Sadie was busy with Avery, she wouldn't have time to make fun of Emily like she usually did.

Drew was winning by a lot, and Jack was getting more and more frustrated every time he heard one of the girls squeal with laughter. They sounded like fucking hyenas. Marcus was pissing Jack off too. Marcus was usually a pretty cool guy, he could be a jackass but most of the time he was chill. But Jack though Marcus was smart enough not to give girls like Avery the stuff he was giving her. Jack couldn't be sure what Avery was buying, but judging from her red-rimmed eyes and the fact that Sadie had been shocked to see her so soon, Jack knew it couldn't be good.

"Hey, Mercer," Marcus called to Jack now. Jack's eyes stayed on the television screen, his thumbs jabbing the buttons harder now. "You gonna be buying anytime soon? I need some money."

Jack glared at the red racecar he was driving. "No," He said shortly.

"Aw, that's so sweet," Sadie cooed, walking over and sitting next to Emily on the couch. "Jack's quitting. Who'd ever thought I would happen?"

"He was smoking, like, two seconds ago," Marcus laughed. And then he grew serious. "Dude, really, are you gonna stock up soon?"

"I said no, Marcus." Jack growled, his eyes darkening. He didn't even know why he was getting so pissed off, which only made him madder.

"Marcus, I gotta go, are you going to give me any or are you just going to stand there?" Avery's impatient voice came, and Jack glanced up to see her holding a few bills in her hand.

"Relax, girl," Marcus said, smiling. He tried pulling Avery towards him but she pushed him away.

"I'm serious, I have dinner with my dad in an hour and I need something to get me through it." She said stubbornly.

Sadie smiled. "Ah, yes, family dinners. Let me guess, your parents are divorced?"

Avery looked over at her, her blue eyes narrowing slightly. "Seperated."

"Even worse, because they let you think they're going to get back together but you know they never will. It's all one big lie." Sadie slid her hand over Jack's shoulder.

Avery gave Sadie a dead-panned look. "I don't want them to get back together. My mother's a whore."

There was a beat of silence. Everyone was just a little surprised at the serious way Avery said this.

"Give it up, Marcus, or I'm leaving without giving you any money." Avery demanded, breaking the silence.

"Alright, alright. Come with me to my car to get it." Marcus said, and Avery followed him up the stairs. Jack fought the urge to go after her and stop her from doing anything stupid. He figured it wasn't weed, which he would have been fine with. But since he knew it wasn't, Jack was a little worried. He knew what it was like to be addicted to hard drugs, and he knew what it did to people. It wasn't a fun fight to fight, that was for sure.

"God, she's pretty pathetic, huh?" Sadie giggled, leaning back on the couch and bad-mouthing the girl she had been whispering with only minutes earlier.

"You're a bitch, Sadie." Emily said, rolling her eyes and walking to the refrigerator to get a soda.

"Are you still a virgin, Em?" Sadie asked in a sweet voice. Emily didn't answer and Sadie giggled. "Oh, yeah, I forgot that lesbians stay virgins forever."

Jack crashed into a wall and his car blew up. Drew threw his hands in the air, celebrating his victory. Jack stood up and walked to the stairs. "Come on, Em, mom's making meatloaf and she told me that if I saw you to invite you over. She needs your help with the mashed potatoes." He said to Emily, who was leaning against the refrigerator and guzzling a soda, trying to forget she ever heard Sadie's insult.

She gave him a grateful smile. "Thanks," She said, walking up the stairs after him.

Outside, Avery was walking to her car, stuffing something into her back pocket. Jack looked at the sidewalk and kept his mouth shut.

"Hey, Avery!" Emily called, and Jack looked up, shooting Emily a look that she didn't notice. Avery looked at them and stopped walking. When they reached her, they stopped, too. "Give us a lift? It's only a few blocks over."

Avery looked at Jack, and then back at Emily and shrugged. "Sure," She said, opening her car door. She had to pull her seat back for Emily to climb in back, and Jack walked around to the other side of the car and climbed in, silently fuming.

He wanted nothing to do with Avery, because when he was around her, he felt like she was his responsibility and that he had to protect her and he really didn't want that job. Especially since she wasn't too willing to oblige.

"Turn right," Jack grunted and Avery flicked her blinker on. The car was silent, tension waving through it like a swarm of bees. Except that it wasn't going away.

"So you and Marcus are, like, tight now?" Emily asked, forcing conversation.

Avery looked at Emily through the rearview mirror and then back at the road, her face never changing emotions. Emily wasn't sure Avery had any other emotions other than neutral and mad.

"No," Avery said, sitting up straighter. She paused at a red light and the car idled, waiting to break loose again.

"Well he seems kind of in to you," Emily said, picking at a hang nail. When she looked up, Jack was drumming his fingers on the arm rest on the car door.

"Marcus is an asshole." Avery said, turning at the corner. "I don't need him for anything other than what I pay him for."

Emily suppressed a giggle. That comment could be taken in several different ways. "How'd you meet Sadie, anyways? The School for Bitches?" Emily hadn't meant the insult to go Avery's way, but she realized that it had when it was too late.

"I didn't mean to…"

"I met her at a party someone from my school was having. I didn't know she lived here. All she told me was where to go." Avery said, pulling her visor down and checking her make-up in the mirror. She rubbed her lips together and then opened the console between her and Jack and dug around until she found a tube of lipstick.

"Well, you probably don't want to hang around her." Emily sighed, like it was a heavy burden she was telling Avery. "She's got serious issues."

Avery smiled as she took the top off the lipstick and turned the tube until the bright red color showed up. Jack watched as she did this all with one hand, and then he focused his attention out the window. Avery applied the lipstick, somehow keeping the car on the road and painting the lipstick perfectly onto her pouty lips. When she was done, she rolled the lipstick down and snapped the top back on, dropping it into the console to be forgotten about until she was in a similar situation.

"Everyone has issues," Avery said then, putting both hands on the steering wheel. "Otherwise the world would be incredibly boring."

Jack rubbed his hands on his knees, itching to get out of the car.

"Yeah, but I mean _real_ issues. Like big ones. She can get out of control." Emily said, her head popping between the two seats. Jack looked over at her and shook his head. He sometimes forgot why he was friends with her.

"Emily, I really don't care. Sadie and I aren't friends." Avery said with a tired sigh.

"That's good." Emily sat back in the back seat. She noticed a lump in the pocket on the back of Avery;s seat and reached forward. Avery let out an annoyred groan as she stopped for yet another stoplight.

Emily was grinning from ear to ear. She didn't know why it was so funny, really. "Hey, Avery?"

"What?" Avery asked shortly.

"Are you housing whores or something?" Emily's voice broke with a giggle and both Avery and Jack twisted in their seats to see what was so funny.

Jack laughed aloud, taking in the huge box of condoms that was sitting in Emily's lap, as well as the long strip she was holding up. Now he remembered why they were friends.

Avery rolled her eyes. "Put those away." She said, turning back around and glowering up at the red, taunting light.

Emily stuffed the condoms back in the box. "I don't know what guys you're hanging out with, but you sure expect a lot out of them." She said, noticing the size on the box.

Jack was laughing still, rubbing his forehead with his hand and trying to hide his amusement.

Avery glared over at him. "Shut up," She said, but he could see the smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "And for your information, it's the athletes that fulfill my expectations. Try hanging out with them instead of the stoners and you'll find what you're looking for."

Emily cracked up, and Avery smiled over at Jack, who also laughed while still managing to make a face at Avery. Then the light turned green and Avery stepped on the gas pedal, taking them to their destination.

"Seriously, though, are athletes really that big?" Emily asked as Jack's door slammed shut and he started up the front walk, yelling a thank you over his shoulder.

Avery smiled and shrugged. "I'll let you find that one out on your own. Bye." She said, rolling up the window and pulling onto the road.

Jack was already in the kitchen by the time Emily got up to the house, and the minute she stepped inside, it felt like home. Evelyn was making her neighborhood-famous meat loaf, which Emily could smell from the front door.

"Emily, sweetheart, could you help me in here?" Evelyn called from the kitchen. Emily flicked Jack on the side of the head as she walked past him over to the counter, where Evelyn already had the supplies out for Emily to make mashed potatoes.

As the Mercer's stood to say Grace, holding hands around the dining room table, the surface littered with glasses and plates and delicious food, Avery sat in her spot at her family's enormous Italian-crafted dining room table, surrounded by expensive china and crystal and too many forks, staring at the empty chair that seemed miles away.

Her father was late again. No, not late. He was blowing her off again.

Avery cut into her steak, which had grown cold as she sat and waited for her father, at the same exact time the Mercers stuffed steaming meatloaf dipped in mushy mashed potatoes into their mouths.

Avery pressed her lips to the crystal glass filled with wine imported from France, while the Mercers poured beer from the drugstore down their throats. Avery lifted a shaky hand to her head to push her hair away as the Mercers laughed at one of Emily's comments.

Avery was stumbling through her enormous empty house, spilling vodka on the redwood floors, while the Mercers sat together, sprawled all over the living room, watching a movie on the television.

Avery was chopping and sweeping her buy of cocaine that day into a neat little line and bending her head down as Evelyn kissed Emily's head goodbye. Emily was hugging Jack at the same time Avery inhaled, and lost herself to the world of drugs. She was finally free of the tears fighting the backs of her eyes. Finally, Avery didn't feel the emptiness and loneliness that had built up over the weeks.

* * *

The next few weeks were better, mainly because Avery was too hopped up on drugs to care what was happening around her. She had found a bottle of Valium in her parent's bathroom, on her mother's side, and had tried a pill once. It hadn't done much, just knocked her out for awhile. But sometimes, being unconscious was preferable.

One evening, Avery was hanging out at Lee Jensen's house, something she had taken to doing, and she decided to walk to the drugstore for a pack of cigarettes. Avery avoided her car these days, mainly because it was full of mirrors and she didn't want to see what she was turning into. It was almost nine o'clock at night and Avery was already pretty wasted, having done a few shots and chugging too many beers to count, so Avery didn't really think about the dangers of a girl walking alone in Detroit at night.

Avery was in the drugstore, walking down the row of feminine products without really thinking. She was kind of numb, just the way she liked it.

"Avery?" A voice said, and Avery looked up, swaying, and saw the same kind eyes that made her feel like the horrible person she knew it was. "It's me, Evelyn."

Avery could feel her heartbeat in her eyes. She hated herself at that moment, like so many moments before. She hated that she let herself lose it over stupid things; that Evelyn could still look at her like she was an innocent little girl in pigtails, when in reality, Avery was drunk and high and looked like shit.

"Hi," Avery said softly, closing her eyes briefly and opening them again. The room was spinning. She hated it when the room spun.

"Are you okay?" Evelyn took a step closer. "My Lord, Avery, what happened to your neck?" Usually Evelyn wasn't so blunt, usually she liked to let people come to her with their problems, not push them to confess. But it only took one look at the bruise in the faint shape of a hand curling around Avery's neck for Evelyn to lose her sensibility.

"It was…an accident…I was…I gotta go." Avery walked to the door of the drugstore and stopped. She needed cigarettes. "Can I have a pack of Marlboros?" She asked the guy behind the counter.

Evelyn joined Avery at the counter, setting her items on the counter and smiling at her friend behind the counter. She tapped her watch, asking for him to stall and give her a few moments with Avery.

Avery was bouncing impatiently, tapping her bitten fingernails on the countertop.

"Avery," Evelyn said softly, and Avery looked over, a dark curl falling over her face.

"I really have to hurry, Evelyn." She said, acting like she had somewhere to be. "My friends are…they're waiting for me."

Evelyn glanced outside and when he didn't see any cars or any teenagers hanging around, she smiled at Avery sadly. "You know, you left your clothes at the house when you stayed over that night. I could bring you by and give them to you and then drive you back to your friends' house."

"No, that's okay. I don't need the clothes."

"Avery, what am I going to do with a pair of size zero designer jeans in a houseful of boys and the few extra pounds I've gained over the years?" Evelyn asked with a small smile. Avery smiled, but she wasn't really smiling. It broke Evelyn's heart to see a girl like Avery throwing her life away. It reminded her a lot of how Jack used to be.

"Okay…I'll get my clothes." Avery shrugged, not wanting to make a big deal about it. Finally, the guy behind the counter handed her the cigarettes and she paid for them shamelessly.

After Evelyn paid for her purchases, she led Avery outside and they both climbed into her minivan. "You could come in and have some dinner, I have so much left over." She said carefully, noticing with a pang how sharply Avery's collarbone and shoulder bones stood out.

Avery looked out the window, nervous for really no reason. "I'm not hungry, thanks."

They pulled into the driveway and walked through the back door, leading to the kitchen, where Jack sat at the table, eating a plate heaped with chocolate chip cookies.

"Jack, I just baked those today!" Evelyn scolded and he looked up guiltily, a chocolate smudge on the corner of his mouth.

"Bobby got 'em out." He said, his mouth full.

"Shut up, fairy." Bobby called from the living room.

Avery heard a laugh from the other room, and soon enough, a man probably four or five years older than Jack walked into the room, wearing a clingy long-sleeved gray shirt made out of a soft-looking material and a pair of dark jeans. His dark brown skin made his teeth look blindingly white.

"Avery, this is my son, Angel. Angel, this is Avery." Evelyn said, reaching into the refrigerator to pull out the leftover skirt steak she had made for dinner.

"Ohh, so you're the girl who slept in my bed." Angel said with a wide smile and a wink.

Avery rolled her eyes and sat down at the kitchen table across from Jack. "You might think about wearing less cologne to bed," She said teasingly and Jack laughed down at his plate of cookies. Angel slapped Jack on the back of the head.

"She was in _my_ bed, Jackie-poo. Just remember that." He said, walking into the other room.

Evelyn shook her head at Avery. "Ignore them, they're just being boys." She said and Avery smiled, relaxing a little. "Do you want something to drink?"

"A water, please." Avery said, looking over at Jack, who was studying her without really meaning to.

She raised her eyebrows at him and he shrugged and stuffed another cookie in his mouth. "I haven't seen you at Jensen's." He said.

"I was there tonight. I only go every once in awhile." She lied. The truth was, she only went when she could be sure Jack wouldn't be there. Which wasn't hard to figure out because Sadie knew Jack's whole schedule, it seemed.

"Oh, you're friends with Lee, too?" Evelyn asked from across the kitchen.

"She's friends with Marcus." Jack said, before Avery could answer.

Evelyn frowned. "I don't think I know him…"

"Yeah, well, he's an asshole." Jack said, standing up and walking into the other room. Avery shifted in her seat.

"Maybe I should just get my stuff another time?" She said uncomfortably.

"Oh, don't be silly. Don't let Jack bother you, he's only concerned."

"For what?" Avery asked, looking at Evelyn. Evelyn realized too late that she shouldn't have said that.

"For…you know, people." Evelyn was a horrible liar.

"What do you mean?" Avery asked, and Evelyn noticed how quickly the girl sobered up.

"It's just…well, I think Jack's worried about your health." Evelyn said. She didn't know if Jack was worried about Avery's health, or if he was jealous of Marcus, or if he and Avery had even formed a friendship. All she knew was that _she_ was worried for Avery's health.

"My health." Avery said and smiled. "Of course."

Evelyn looked at Avery. "Would you like to talk about the bruise on your neck?" She blurted and Avery stared at the floor.

"No,"

"Well, I think it would be good for you to—"

"It's over, if that's what you're thinking. I'm not some pathetic girl who thinks that her boyfriend loves her and shows his love in weird ways. I'm not stupid." Avery said, locking eyes with Evelyn.

"I know, sweetheart, but these things happen to the best of us."

"Not to me." Avery shook her head and stood up. "It's not even what you think it is, okay? Where's the bathroom?"

"It's upstairs." Evelyn said softly and Avery walked out of the kitchen, holding back tears.

Why was it that when someone finally cared enough to ask, Avery had to get bitchy about it? She was by far the worst person in the world, and Avery wondered why Evelyn even tried.

Avery walked down the stairs after silently crying the bathroom for all of five minutes, and saw the three brothers stretched out in the living room. Bobby was sprawled across the couch, showing his alpha male role. Jack was on the floor, his head propped up on pillows, and Angel was in the worn-in easy chair facing the television, his legs stretched out in front of him.

"What are you watching?" Avery asked, walking into the room.

No one looked up. "_Blow_," Jack said tonelessly, staring at the screen where Johnny Depp was wearing a pair of aviators and sported long blond hair.

Bobby tossed a blanket and pillow onto the floor a few feet from Jack, and Avery knew that was her silent invitation. She rubbed her face and then sat down on the floor, laying back on the pillow and pulling the blanket around her.

If she really paid attention to the movie, which the boys seemed to have seen enough times to see the humor, Avery was able to laugh along with them. The movie wasn't supposed to be funny, not really, at least. But if she concentrated enough, Avery was able to see the comedy in it.

Evelyn had come in once, to bring Avery a plate loaded with food, and she smiled as she walked out. Maybe Avery wasn't ready to talk, but at least she was out of harm's way for the time being.

* * *

**A/N** i know this made it seem like Avery's a bad person but i'm going to explain in a little while. and remember that the chapter names are from a song by Augustana called "Boston" and i'm not getting any money or anything like that 


	5. What You Don't Know

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from four brothers

Someone, at some time late last night, had carried Avery to Jeremiah's old room and dumped her in the bed, pulling the covers up around her shoulders. Avery blinked at the strange room, not feeling much of anything. She wasn't scared, like she sometimes was when she couldn't remember the night before, and woke up in a strange bed. She wasn't guilty, or embarrassed. She was hungry.

Avery smiled then, because for the first time in she didn't know how long, she was craving something other than drugs. And she suspected that that something was being cooked in the kitchen below her.

Avery opened the door and took the stairs two at a time, her foot slipping on a stair in the middle and causing her to have a minor heart attack as she gripped the railing attached to the wall and righted herself.

"Whoa, slow down there," A voice above Avery said, and she looked up, cringing, and saw Bobby.

She tried to compose herself, thinking of something witty and clever to say, and then rolled her eyes and went down the rest of the steps. "I'm hungry," She said as an excuse and Bobby bounded down the steps after her, smiling.

"You shouldn't be, I mean, you _did_ wolf down that plate of food Ma gave you last night. I can hardly keep that much down. And I'm a man." Bobby said, grinning and rubbing his muscular torso.

Avery was smiling as she entered the kitchen. "Someone's got a pretty big ego." She said, sitting down at the kitchen table. Bobby sat down across from her, licking his lips as he watched Evelyn carry a plateful of steaming, perfectly peppered scrambled eggs to the table. Evelyn kissed Bobby's head, and then surprised Avery by doing the same to her own head.

"Who's got a big ego?" Evelyn asked, walking back to the other side of the counter and picking up a plate of toast.

"Bobby," Avery said, dragging the heavy plate of eggs towards her before Bobby could get to it and unloading a heap onto her own plate. "He thinks that just because he's a 'man', he's automatically better than me at everything."

"I didn't say everything." Bobby said, reaching across the table and yanking the eggs away from Avery.

Evelyn carried the toast and jam to the table and set them down, unscrewing the top on the jam jar. "Bobby, haven't we had this talk before?"

"I didn't say everything, Ma!" Bobby responded, shooting Avery a glare.

"He was just teasing me about eating so much," Avery said, giving in and supporting Bobby.

Evelyn shook her head. "You handle yourself with the boys better than I would have thought, considering you just met them." She said, pulling a chair out and sitting down at the table.

Avery shrugged as she sucked a glob of grape jelly off her thumb. "I have an older brother."

"Oh," Evelyn said, as if that explained everything. And it sort of did. "What's his name?"

"Chris."

"Are you two close?" Evelyn asked cautiously, trying to get more insight on Avery's life without making it obvious.

"Not really, he hasn't been around too much this year." Avery stabbed at the eggs with her fork and brought some into her mouth. She appeared to be thinking about something as she chewed, her face tilted to the ceiling and a frown on her face. "I can't really remember the last time I saw him, actually."

"Oh…does he live in town?"

"Yeah, he actually lives at home, but he doesn't come by very often. Or at least not when I'm around." Avery shrugged and went back to eating. "He and my dad haven't been getting along."

"Oh? Why is that?" Evelyn asked, and then saw by Avery's facial expression that she had gone too far. Avery was closing up again.

"I don't know…it's complicated." She said, staring at her plate.

Bobby had been watching the conversation, shaking more pepper on his eggs, and when he looked down, he saw that the eggs were covered in black and gray pepper. "Shit," He mumbled, so Evelyn wouldn't hear, and then shrugged and mixed the eggs up, shoveling some into his mouth.

"DO you need to call your parents and tell them where you are?" Evelyn asked gently, standing to get the phone.

"No, they won't care."

"I'm sure they won't, but don't you think they should know you're okay?" Evelyn held the phone out to Avery.

Avery looked up at Evelyn, swallowing the eggs in her mouth and then finally nodding and taking the phone. She dialed slowly, stalling for time for some reason. And then she raised the phone to her ear and waited.

"Hi…um, it's Avery, can I speak to my dad?" Avery said quietly into the phone. She paused. "He is? Well, I only need to speak to him for a second. Oh…tell him I called?" She scratched at her knee, her head lowered. "Avery…his daughter. A-V-E-R-Y." Evelyn pressed a hand to her mouth as Avery had to spell out her own name to her father's assistant. When Avery hung up and looked back at Evelyn, handing the phone back to her, Evelyn forced a smile.

"You want to try your mom?" She asked.

Avery smiled sardonically. "My mom's in Boston, she hasn't called in seven months." Avery stood and walked to the stairs, leaving her empty plate behind her.

Evelyn and Bobby locked eyes. "I have work today, Bobby. Don't let her go home until I'm back, okay?" Evelyn said, picking up her purse from the counter.

Bobby nodded, chewing slowly. "So her dad's assistant doesn't even know he has a daughter?"

Evelyn frowned, more at the situation than at her son. "There's something wrong with that." She sighed, looking in the direction of the stairs. Evelyn didn't lie, especially to her sons. She could have made up a lie about there being plenty of explanations for his secretary not knowing he even had kids, but in reality, Evelyn knew there was much more to it than that, and so she said so.

Avery knocked on Jack's bedroom door and when he gave his consent, pushed it open.

"I guess I should go," She said, leaning against the doorframe. "But, you know, thanks again." She picked at the chipping white paint on the doorway, avoiding Jack's intense gaze.

"I didn't do anything for you." He said, setting his guitar on the stand he had conveniently placed next to his bed.

"Well, thanks anyways." Avery said, leaning her back on the frame of the door and sticking her hips out.

"You don't have to go; my mom won't care." Jack said, wondering if he was making a huge mistake even as he said this.

Avery looked over at him. "Your mom…so are you, like, adopted?" She asked.

Jack smiled. "So you noticed something was up."

"Well, it's kind of hard to miss." Avery said, watching Angel walk from the bathroom to his bedroom, a towel wrapped around his waist and his hard stomach muscles glistening with water. He flashed a smile at Avery and she turned back to Jack. "Not that it's a bad thing."

"Yeah, all four of us are adopted." Jack said, lifting his butt in the air off the bed and reaching into his back pocket for a pack of cigarettes. He reached over and pushed his window open, so Evelyn wouldn't smell the smoke, and then lit up.

"How old were you?" Avery asked, scuffing the bottom of her bare foot against the hardwood floor.

"Ten or eleven." Jack said, scratching his head and thinking back to the first time he was introduced to the Mercers. It was one of many foster homes he had been thrown headlong into, but the only one that accepted him.

"Sometimes I wish I was adopted." Avery said with a small smile.

"Why?" Jack asked. Before Evelyn had adopted Jack, all he had ever wanted was a real family. All he had wanted were his real parents. And Avery had all that, and she didn't want it?

"Because then…I guess I would understand why my parents don't seem to like me very much." Avery said with a shrug, not looking too sad as she said this comment.

"They like you enough to give you everything you could ever want." Jack said, looking at the burning end of his cigarette.

"Yeah," Avery said softly. "I guess so."

Jack was quite for a bit, looking at Avery as she leaned in the doorway, her long brown hair falling almost halfway down her back. It was the first time he'd seen her without make-up and he thought she almost looked better without it. Between the last time he had seen her and now, she had thickened her eyeliner application, making her tired face look even more blank and hollow. Now, even though she had just woken up less than twenty minutes ago and still had a crease on her left cheek from the pillow, she looked healthy and natural.

"You wanna play cards?" Jack asked, pulling a worn-out deck of cards from the drawer in the table beside his bed. Avery smiled, looking like she wanted to say something, and walked over to Jack's bed. She sat across from him, Indian style, as he passed out the cards.

"So you play the guitar," Avery said, more as a comment than a question. She held her cards in her hand so Jack couldn't see.

"Yeah, a little bit." Jack said modestly, his eyes on the cards in his hands.

Avery smiled. "Ever write a song for someone?" She asked teasingly and Jack looked up.

"Not anyone in particular." He said.

"Hmm," Avery said, hiding a smile.

"I'm not writing a song for you." Jack said, shaking his head and placing a card down on the bed cover.

"I'm not asking you to." Avery picked his card up and discarded a king of spades.

"It sounded like you were."

"Well, I wasn't. I don't want a song written for me." Avery waited for Jack to put a card down. "Besides, I already have one."

"What? A song?" Jack laughed, dropping down a nine of hearts.

"Yes, a good song, too."

"Which one?" Jack asked, disappointed as Avery laid down a seven of spades.

"Ocean Eyes," Avery smiled, shaking her hair out of her face as she looked back up at Jack. He raised his eyebrows.

"Really."

"Yup. I went to St. John's with three of my friends for spring break one year and Moore Chandler was there and he sort of fell in love with me and wrote me a song. He sang it outside our cabana and it was one of the most embarrassing and exciting moments of my life." She explained, picking up the card Jack had discarded.

"Wow," Jack said, impressed. He had heard the song so many times and had never really thought about who it was about. And now he was meeting miss Ocean Eyes herself. "So it didn't work out?"

Avery laughed. "No," She gave Jack a smile. "I don't go for musicians."

Jack laughed as he picked the card Avery dropped down. "That's good, I guess, because I don't go for spoiled brats."

Avery smacked Jack's shoulder. "Shut up," She said, rolling her eyes. Then she grinned and set all her cards down neatly. "Gin."

"Yo, Jack Attack, we're gonna go down to the rink and play a little hockey." Bobby said, popping into the room just as Avery and Jack started up another game of Gin.

"Is Jerry comin'?" Jack asked, looking up.

"Nah, he's got something to do with his kid." Bobby rolled his eyes, like it was a ridiculous idea.

"So who's taking his place this time? Not Donovan?" Jack asked, already standing and deserting Avery.

"I guess we're gonna have to play a three-man team." Bobby shrugged.

"I can play," Avery offered, also standing. Both Bobby and Jack looked at her, trying not to laugh.

"Sorry, babe, this is a pretty rough game. Lost my two front teeth once." Bobby grinned.

Avery made a face at him. "I can play, really." She insisted.

"No, that's okay. I don't want to explain to Ma why you got broken ribs." Bobby said, turning to go. Jack started to follow.

"I guess I should go home then," Avery said, following them down the stairs.

Bobby stopped, remembering his mother's orders to keep Avery there until she got home. He groaned and wheeled around. "Fine, you can come. I don't know about playing, though."

"What the hell is she doing?" Angel asked, gliding over to Jack who was tying his old black skates. Jack looked up and saw Avery putting on a pair of Bobby's old skates that were beat up and guaranteed to be too big for her.

"I had to let her play," Bobby said, looking annoyed. "Ma made me promise to keep her here and she was going to leave if I didn't."

"Damn, she's going to start crying over a broken nail or something." Angel said, skating over to Avery. "You sure you know how to do this?" He asked, smiling as he skated backwards.

Avery stood, wobbling a little in the uncomfortable skates. "Yes, I'm sure." She said, stepping gingerly onto the ice. She got a little too much momentum pushing her other foot off the ground and started flying towards the center of the rink.

The three Mercer brothers watched, cringing as Avery grew closer to the monster of a man, Tate Crick, and then at the last second, she swerved out of the way with more grace than was expected.

She smiled as she glided across the ice over to them. "So where's my stick?" She asked.

Usually, the Mercers played hockey at the outdoor rink a few blocks from their house, but since it was summer, they had to resort to the indoor rink where all the stuck-up rich folks of Northern Detroit went. It wasn't as fun, since most of the players were a bunch of pansies, but it was better than nothing.

It took Avery awhile to get used to the weird skates on her feet, but once the game started, she gained confidence with every stride. The first time the puck was passed to Avery, she was surprised and a little terrified of all the people racing towards her. But she regained her composure when Bobby started screaming and pushed it around.

"Watch out!" Angel yelled, and Avery raised her eyes to see Tate blocking her path to the goal. She moved to the side and he stuck his stick out, trying to stop her but Avery was a quick thinker and flew over the stick, landing on the other side easily and going on to score the first goal.

"Where'd you learn to skate like that?" Jack asked, coming up beside Avery. They were playing defense while Bobby and Angel were fighting for the puck on the other side of the rink.

"Ten years of figure skating." Avery smiled. "I've never played hockey though."

"You're pretty good for never having played before," Jack said, watching Bobby punch a guy on the other team as he tried to steal the puck from Angel.

"Beginner's luck," Avery teased, twirling around easily. Jack watched Avery smiling at him and thought about the other times he had seen her; drunk or stoned or just messed up. He wondered how she could be so full of live like she was right now; so beautiful and happy, it seemed, and so…_dead_ the next. His eyes fell to a small bruise on her collar bone and he wondered what else there was to find out about this girl.

What was she hiding? Did he even want to know? Should he even care?

Jack didn't want to care; he wanted to send Avery home later when Evelyn said it was fine and never see her again because he was starting to feel as if she was his responsibility. And he wasn't too sure if he liked that or not.

**A/N**

Pretty short, I know. But I haven't updated in a LONNNNNNGGGGgg time which I want to apologize for but life gets pretty busy! If you know what I mean. I know practically everyone has done the hockey thing but I just HAD to put it in there. Please read and review to make me smile! Or you can just tell me a good joke…that works too. ;)

Have I mentioned that I LOVE YOU!


	6. He's not a Fool

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Four Brothers, just the OCs and plot.

**A/N **Hey, sorry it's been so long!! I kind of got stuck with this for a while, not liking anything that came out, but I'm pretty pleased with what turned up. I hope i didn't lose all of my readers! And i hope that whoever reads this likes it, I tried to add a little more insight on both Jack and Avery, since I was getting a lot of questions on both of them.

* * *

Avery turned the key in the ignition of her car and stared at her house for a long time. She didn't want to go in there. Not now, not when she was actually semi-happy for once. They had won the hockey game, and Avery actually felt like she had finally accomplished something worthwhile. Not that hockey meant all that much to her, but the whole concept of working with other people made her feel a little bit better about herself.

Finally, Avery grabbed her bag and pushed the car door open. After the game and Evelyn got home, she took Avery to get her car from Marcus' house. Avery wasn't stupid, she knew that when Evelyn was sitting in her car as Avery turned on the ignition, she was really waiting for her to leave so that she wouldn't have to worry about Avery going into the house.

Avery pushed the big wooden-and-glass door open and stepped into the marble foyer.

"Dad?" She called, only half-expecting an answer. With a sigh, she kicked her shoes off and dropped her bag on the floor and walked through the house to her father's study. With a knock, she pushed the door open and saw her father sitting behind the big dark-wood desk, frowning at a pile of papers in his hands.

Julien looked up when his daughter came in and took off his reading glasses, sitting back in his chair to give her a smile. "Did you go out to breakfast this morning?" He asked pleasantly.

Avery licked her lips and forced a smile. "Yeah, Natalie called and you weren't around. I hope it's okay." She told him, walking into the room and taking a seat in one of the comfortable chairs across the wide desk from her father.

"Of course, you know I like Natalie." Julien said and Avery nodded, crossing her legs.

"You look tired; did you just get home?" Avery asked, as a way of making conversation.

"Yes, I had to pull an all-nighter at the office." Julien said, rubbing his dark blue eyes. The only thing that Avery resembled with her father was their eyes. They both had the dark blue eyes that changed to green-blue in the sunlight.

"I called, actually," Avery said and Julien raised his eyebrows. "I told your secretary to take a message, but she didn't know who I was."

Julien thought about this. "Well, Avery, I'm sure she took the message. I didn't have time to look at my messages this morning because I was in a very important meeting."

Avery watched her father lie to her and acted as if it didn't bother her. Hey, at least he didn't say that the secretary surely knew who she was, that there was just a bad connection or other bullshit like that.

"Of course," Avery nodded. "Do you want to have dinner tonight? I could cook."

"Honey, I don't think tonight is a very good night for a family dinner. I have to prepare to go into court tomorrow and I'll probably just have Maria make something quickly and eat it in here." Julien said, in the same distant, heartless voice that Avery had overheard him use on clients when assuring them that they wouldn't be accused of being guilty.

"Dad…" She started, her heart rate speeding up as she was about to take a huge step out of the comfort zone to stand up for herself.

But at that moment, the phone on her father's desk rang and he held up one finger to her before picking up the receiver and bringing it to his ear.

Avery stood and left her father arguing with a client of his, ordering him around and whatnot. She didn't need to stick around to be ignored. She got enough of that everywhere else in life, she might as well be alone.

Up in her room, Avery sat Indian-style on her plush carpeting in shorts and a T-shirt and lit a ready-made joint. As she inhaled the first draw, she closed her eyes and lay back on the floor, and her thoughts somehow drifted to Jack.

She felt as if she were somehow letting him down, even though they hardly knew each other and there was no reason he would even care about her. Helping her out the way he had was just him being a decent person.

Without any real, troubling thoughts in her head, the realization came to Avery that maybe the reason she was thinking about Jack was because he was the one boy who hadn't gone after her in anyway.

They were sitting on his bed, their knees almost touching, and he hadn't even _looked_ at her lips, or anything other than his cards and her eyes, for that matter. It wasn't that Avery was cocky—which she sort of was—it was that she was so used to pushing guys away or even, when she wasn't too proud of herself, pulling them closer. But she hardly ever had to make the first move.

After all the good-looking boys who had come her way, Avery hated that the one guy she found herself thinking about was the same one who hardly paid any attention to her.

Out of sheer boredom, that Monday, Avery rolled out of bed at the crack of dawn and threw on a school uniform that she had tossed in the corner of the room after wearing it last. To add her own flare to the ugly-ass uniform, she yanked on ripped gray tights and gray gloves with the fingertips cut off. When she was bored and high sometimes, she liked to make up stupid outfits to wear to school for whenever she went to piss off the teachers.

With a slightly cloudy head, Avery trudged downstairs. Her father's office door was ajar and when she peeked her head inside, Julien was sitting slumped in his chair, his head lolled back against the headrest and his mouth open. He snored a little and it made Avery want to cry.

But she didn't.

Instead, she quietly closed the door and drove to school, regretting her decision to go to school the second she stepped out of her car and saw all her classmates milling around the entrance of the school.

Instantly, Avery began to feel nauseous and she rubbed her tired face and took a deep breath before starting towards the Death Trap. Having not been in school for a while, a lot of people gave her sideways looks that told Avery their thoughts. Most likely, they were assuming she had been in rehab or was mentally ill.

Those things weren't too rare in her school, either.

When Avery was at her locker, spinning the lock and trying to conjure up the combination in the depths of her cloudy mind, Natalie leaned against the locker next to hers and softly spouted off the numbers.

"Twenty-eight, twelve, seven."

Avery licked her lips, tasting the aftermath of the joint she'd sucked down on her way here and spun the lock once to the right, once to the left, and then to the right once more. She got her books and then slammed the locker shut and looked at Natalie.

Natalie looked back at Avery through dark brown eyes and Avery's shoulders lifted and fell in a pathetic shrug. She had let Natalie down; Avery had shut her out for the past few weeks and hadn't once tried to make contact with her.

Avery didn't know how to apologize—growing up in a household where she was hardly noticed and got everything she wanted didn't call for much interaction, especially fights.

"John's pissed." Natalie said finally, starting their routine walk down the hall that the two girls used to take everyday and that Natalie had been taking on her own lately. Avery had fucked up, but Natalie knew her better than Avery thought she did; she knew she needed a friend and Natalie was pretty good at that.

"So?" Avery scoffed.

"So he's going to confront you today and I wanted to warn you." Natalie said, looking at Avery as they walked. She looked tired; absolutely drained of all living color.

"We weren't dating." Avery reminded Natalie, offering a smile to ward off her prying glances.

Natalie shrugged. "Tell that to John,"

Avery looked forward, not wanting to venture further into the dreaded conversation and saw a sight that made her cringe. Her "best" friend, Kailey Laughlin was walking in her direction, her hand linked with her dumb-as-dirt boyfriend, Chance Johnson.

"Avey!" Kailey cried loudly, using the annoying nickname she always used with Avery. Kailey started walking really quickly, pulling Chance with her and when she reached a frozen Avery, she unclamped her grasp on Chance's hand and threw her arms around Avery's rigid body. "Where've you been?"

And this was why Avery had stopped trying to continue her friendship with Kailey. When Kailey and Chance started dating at the beginning of the summer, Avery had advised against it because Chance was a dumbass and a player. But Kailey had ignored Avery's warnings and fell in deep with Chance. So deep that she stopped hanging out with her friends and spent all her waking moments with a guy who no one had ever heard form a complete, reasonable sentence.

This was when Avery started spending more time with Natalie, a girl who had always been inside the so-called popular circle but who never really got involved in drama. She was included in all the plans and everyone liked her because there was nothing _not_ to like, but she was too laid back to be noticed too much. That was what first drew Avery to her. Natalie wouldn't cause a commotion like Kailey always did, and she wouldn't wake her up in the middle of the night crying into the phone over some idiotic thing her boyfriend did.

And now, as Kailey squeezed Avery's fucking guts out, she wondered why she had ever been friends with her. Natalie hadn't mentioned anything about Avery being gone, and Kailey, who hadn't really talked to Avery since she started dating Chance, came right out and asked where she had been.

"Around," Avery groaned, loosing practically all air left in her lungs. Chance, in a strange moment of brains, pulled Kailey away from Avery by her elbow and flashed a smile at Avery.

"Around!" Kailey laughed manically. "Seriously, everyone's been _so_ worried about you. You, like, stepped off the face of the earth!"

"Yeah," Avery forced a laugh. "Yeah, I guess so."

"So…where have you been?" Kailey's smile was starting to get strained. She glanced at Natalie, who was as cool as a cucumber, wondering if she knew before her.

Avery shrugged her shoulders and continued walking. "Senior year…calls for a lot of skips." She said with a light laugh.

Avery figured that would be the worst moment of her day, but then at lunch, John Foreman sat down across the table from her and Natalie and set his hard gaze on her.

"Hi, John." Avery said, biting into her apple.

"Can we talk?" John asked flat out.

Avery looked at him. "We are talking."

"No, I mean in private."

"No, but we can talk here. Nat won't say anything." Avery kicked Natalie under the table to let her know not to leave her alone with this boy.

John let out a frustrated breath and looked at Natalie, and then back at Avery. "What the hell happened, Avery?" He said finally.

Avery's look was innocent and angelic. "What do you mean?"

"You just disappeared…did something happen?" He lowered his voice, leaning closer.

Avery laughed. "Nothing happened; I just didn't feel like coming to school."

"You couldn't have called?" John asked, his dark green eyes narrowing. "I mean, we sort of had something going."

Avery studied him for a minute, wondering why she had ever slept with him. "No, we didn't. We had a good time…once."

John gave Avery a look of complete disgust as he slammed his hands on the table and stood up. "What the fuck happened to you, Avery?"

He left her, blinking with her apple halfway to her mouth, and stomped out of the cafeteria with nearly an entire roomful of eyes following him.

_What had happened to her_? What kind of question was that? _Everything_ had happened to her. She hadn't just changed over night like John seemed to think. The hard truth was, that night at the beginning of the summer with the dirty cement and the tight, groping hands had started her long and scary spiral down to the piece of shit she was.

"Avery, where are you going?" Avery was down the front stairs and ready to bolt across the student parking lot to the security of her car when she heard Natalie's voice.

"I'm leaving. I don't know why I came today." Avery said, refusing to turn around.

Natalie was quiet for a few seconds. "You can't just _leave_."

Avery faced Natalie, her blue eyes hard and cold. "What's here for me, Natalie? A group of people judging me and a bunch of teachers hating me?" Avery shook her head. "I don't belong here anymore."

Natalie didn't stop her this time; Avery was her best friend, her only _real_ friend, but if she couldn't stop thinking about herself for one second and realize that Natalie was just about as miserable as she was the past few weeks, then maybe she wouldn't be there to help Avery next time she needed it.

* * *

Jack stopped halfway down the stairs at his school and stared at the girl leaning against the red VW Beetle. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and watched her tilt her head to the side, ignoring the rambunctious pack of boys making snide comments as they passed her.

Slowly, Jack descended the rest of the stairs and walked down the front walk to her. She looked sad. Behind the smile was a sadness that could never be covered up. And Jack hated the way it made him feel.

"Need a ride?" Avery said, pushing her hair behind her ear.

Jack pressed his lips together and looked down at the car. "Sure." He said finally.

Avery smiled and walked around the driver's side where she got in. Jack slid into the passenger seat, stuffing his backpack down at his feet.

They drove for several minutes in silence, the only sound being the faint music playing, the volume turned down low. Jack sucked on the middle joint of his forefinger for nothing better to do, and stared out the window.

He felt the need to engage in conversation, something that didn't ever really happen to Jack. He was a quiet person, who only spoke when asked a direct question or if he had something to say. He wasn't one to drabble on about nothing just to cover up the silence and awkwardness.

But Avery made him nervous, antsy, even. He felt like there was so much depth to her, so much baggage that she carried around on her small, frail shoulders. And as much as he tried to push these feelings away, he felt like he had to help her.

A big part of Jack knew that the main reason he felt so responsible, so _protective_ over Avery, was because that in many ways, she reminded him of himself. Or, who he had been for a long time.

When he had first come to the Mercer household, Jack didn't talk. At all. It was more than him just being a quiet person, he had been traumatized in ways that, looking back, made him wonder how he had gotten through everything semi-normal. Evelyn had tried so desperately to make him happy, but she never pushed him to talk. She would talk to him, describing her day in that pleasant, soothing voice, and even asked him questions. When he didn't answer, she just moved on, completely undeterred.

It was Angel who finally got him to talk. Bobby got fed up with him too quickly, stomping off and shouting things about him being a brat and a punk, just playing with them to amuse himself. This had hurt Jack a little bit, because he looked up to Bobby so unfailingly, like he was a king, or something. But he knew that Bobby was just frustrated.

Jerry was quiet himself, and seemed to understand that Jack would talk when he wanted to. He was like Evelyn in that sense, knowing that the time would come eventually, but they couldn't rush it.

Angel, however, was somewhere in-between Bobby's fury and Jerry and Evelyn's patience. He knew that Jack would talk eventually and that they couldn't force him, but he also knew that he might need a little encouragement; a little push in the right direction.

So Angel taught Jack how to play Gin. Angel was the best gin player in the house, beating anyone and everyone he played. This pissed Bobby off to no end, and Jerry eventually gave up trying at all. So Angel pushed Jack onto the couch one day, telling him that he needed a new gin partner, and that Jack was going to learn how to play.

It didn't take long; Jack was a naturally observant person and had picked up the point of the game from watching his brothers play. After a little practice, he gave Angel a run for his money, but he never won.

But each day, after dinner, Jack would bring out the battered pack of cards that Evelyn had given him for Christmas after seeing how much he had taken to the game, and deal the cards, even if Angel told him that no, he wasn't in the mood to play right then.

Angel, of course, usually gave in and ended up playing Jack anyways, mostly because he knew that Jack was getting better and better, beating the other two brothers, and to prove that he was still the best.

Each time Angel won, he would throw his cards down and yell "Gin!" triumphantly, before doing the type of dance a football player might do after making a touchdown, his smile wide and playful.

This only made Jack that much more determined to win. And, one day, he did. He stared at his cards for a few long, silent seconds, his heart beating faster and faster as the numbers and colors blurred in front of him. Once he realized that he had in fact won—had made gin—Jack was overcome with excitement. He threw down his cards, jumped to his feet and yelled "Gin!" right in Angel's shocked face before breaking down into a little victory jig.

The entire family, who had been watching TV on the couch, turned and stared at Jack. He stood there, breathing hard and grinning like an idiot as everyone blinked at him, until Evelyn ran to him and swept him up in a hug.

It wasn't a big step, but it was enough. And soon, Jack was talking all the time, enjoying interacting with his brothers the way he had watched them do for a long time. Jack had started to trust them, and that was all it took to make their bond strong.

Avery was a little different than Jack had been, though. Yes, she was distant and kept her true feelings to herself, but she still spoke. Once Jack started talking, he was able to let himself show little by little. And when the day came that Bobby sat him down and asked him what made him so weird, Jack had been able to tell Bobby the truth, knowing that he could trust him and that Bobby would protect him.

Avery was harder to read. Jack knew there was more to her than a lack of attention from her parents. The bruises helped, but even if there had been no physical evidence, Jack could still feel something in the way Avery looked at him.

As Avery pulled into the driveway of the Mercer household, Jack unbuckled his seatbelt and scratched his head. "So, I guess you didn't come all the way out here to drive me home." He said finally, getting straight to the point.

Avery cut the engine and shook her head, staring at the house. "Nope." She answered.

Jack sat back in the seat, letting his head fall back against the headrest. "You want to come in?"

Avery sighed. "I'm going to Marcus's." She replied softly.

Jack blinked at her, his hand gripping the door handle. "Yeah?" He said after a few moments.

She nodded, running her fingers over the seam on the curve of the bottom of the steering wheel. Jack saw her swallow. "Uh…do you want me to come?" He asked, a little confused as to why she had stopped at his school and offered to give him a ride home.

Avery licked her lips and looked up to meet Jack's eyes. "No. I'll see you later." She said flatly.

Jack hesitated, and then got out of the car, closing the door behind him. He walked to the front door and paused inside the glass section of the house before the second door, looking over his shoulder to see Avery backing out of the driveway and drive down the street, idling at the stop sign for a few seconds, the right blinker on the back of her car flashing before she pulled out onto the road and disappeared around the corner.

As he watched her car turn that corner, Jack knew that he was stuck with her. And, whether Avery knew it or not, she wanted him to find out what was wrong with her.


	7. Hate Me Today

Marcus lived in a good neighborhood. His parents were wealthy and gave to charities; his sisters had good grades and did extra curricular activities. None of the children had ever been deprived or had to face anything truly horrible.

But Marcus, one might say, did not belong in this family. Marcus had first started using drugs in sixth grade, and by eighth, he was the one everyone knew to go to for buying. He gave the fifty dollars in allowance he received each week to his supplier, and got double—if not triple—that amount by the next week.

For some unknown reason, Marcus's parents trusted him, and even on school nights, when kids were seen filing in and out of the basement door and heading to their cars parked on the side of the street, they never reprimanded him or investigated.

People were known to just hang out in Marcus's basement for hours on end, late into the night throughout the week, drinking and smoking, or snorting lines of coke off the redwood coffee table.

When Avery pushed the door leading from outside into the basement open, Marcus turned from the bar, where he had been pouring himself a glass of Jack Daniels, and grinned slyly at her.

"Hey, gorgeous." He said, gulping down some of his drink as he sauntered over to give her a kiss on the lips.

Avery smiled. "Hi, Marcus. I can't stay long." She said, glancing around at all the people lounging. Since it was a Monday, there weren't that many people there. Weekdays were more of chill sessions, where people could just relax and get messed up without having to think about anything.

"Come on, have a drink at least." Marcus urged, his hand very low on her back.

Avery shook her head. "I just need my usual."

"You didn't like the coke?" He asked, looking hurt.

"I just don't want any right now." Avery said curtly. Being around Marcus always made her a little uneasy. Most girls that walked through the door would probably have killed for the attention Avery got from him—he was a very good-looking guy, after all—but Avery just wanted to get in and get out as fast as possible.

"Alright…whatever." Marcus grumbled, walking across the room and up the basement stairs. He stayed upstairs for a very long time, during which Avery stood awkwardly at the bar, trying not to make very much eye contact.

"Avery?" A female voice came, and Avery turned around to find herself looking at Emily. Emily broke into a smile. "What are you doing here?"

"Um…I just had to pick something up from Marcus…what about you? Don't you usually hang out at that other guy's house?" Avery asked, eager to get the attention off of her.

Emily nodded, glancing around for Marcus. "Just came looking for my younger brother. He's a dumbass and thinks it's cool to hang out here."

Avery nodded, smiling mildly and tapping her foot impatiently on the ground. She just wanted to go home.

Emily slid her hands in her back pockets, rocking back and forth from her heels to her toes. Avery didn't look good; she was getting _so_ skinny. Emily hardly knew the girl, but she knew what too skinny looked like.

"Emily, what the fuck?" Emily's younger brother, Scott, demanded, coming up to her. "Why you have to be like that?"

Emily rolled her eyes. "Stop trying to be gangster, Scott." She said, pulling his sideways hat off his head and putting it back on with the visor facing forward. "You're only making a fool of yourself."

"No, _you're_ making a fool of me, showing up like this." Scott snapped, crossing his arms. His eyes traveled to Avery, and slowly worked their way up her body. He smirked and stepped closer. "Who's your friend?"

"Avery," Avery said to him, crossing her arms and cocking an eyebrow. "And I don't go for gangstas." Her smug smile matched the one that Scott had slapped across his face, until it fell right off after her little comment and a disgusted look took its place.

"Scott, we're going…now." Emily said, starting towards the door.

Scott rolled his eyes. "You can go; I'm staying."

Marcus came back down the stairs at this moment, pulling a baggie out of his pocket and tossing to Avery. "Fork it up," he said, rubbing his index finger and thumb together and motioning for Avery to pay him.

She pulled a few bills out of her back pocket and slapped them into his hand, stuffing the baggie into her front pocket. She turned to Emily. "Do you need a ride home?"

Emily looked at her, surprised. "Oh…yeah, thanks. Scott?"

Scott studied Avery for a brief moment and then let out a long, heavy sigh and followed Emily out the door. "See you later, Marcus." He grumbled, his head low.

Avery received a smack on the ass when she turned her back to go outside, and just kept walking. She had it in her head that if she just ignored Marcus, then he would eventually stop trying to get in her pants. Of course, deep down she knew that guys like Marcus could care less what attention they received back from a girl.

Avery didn't speak for the first few minutes in the car, listening without really listening to Scott yell at Emily for making him seem like an idiot. Emily was good at playing it cool, like the things Scott was saying didn't hurt her at all.

Suddenly, Avery glanced over at Emily. "So…you and Jack are, like, friends, right?" She asked hesitantly.

Emily looked at Avery, her eyebrows rising slightly. "Yeah, we're pretty good friends. He and Drew are really good guys. Easy to get along with."

Avery made a noise of disagreement and Emily couldn't help but smile. "But I've noticed that you don't really see things eye-to-eye with him." She added.

Avery sucked in air and let it out slowly, taking her time answering. Emily noticed that Avery never rushed into things. As spontaneous and reckless as she might appear, she wasn't stupid. "Yeah, you could say that." Avery said finally. "He's so damn stubborn…and, I don't know, I feel like he expects me to be something I'm not. Like he thinks somewhere deep down I'm a good person, when I know that I really am the bitch that I come across as."

Emily didn't know how to answer this. She knew it would be better for Avery to get things out, since the poor girl was obviously in desperate need of talking to someone. Avery seemed so closed off, and she probably was most of the time, but Emily knew that she needed to talk, or else she wouldn't have brought up the subject of Jack.

"I don't think that's true." Emily said softly. "Everyone has a good side."

Avery shrugged. "Not me. I just walked away from the only real friend I have left today, after she forgave me for being the idiot I am. I keep refusing help from Jack and his family, keep giving him reasons to despise me. I don't…it seems like everything changed over the summer. I wasn't a good person last year, but I had my good points. At least I still cared about other people and if I was hurting them or not."

Emily could practically feel the pain that Avery was going through vibrating off of her. "Are you…okay? Like, did something happen? Turn left here."

Avery flicked her blinker on and hung a left, pulling onto a neighborhood street with small, quaint houses and perfect front lawns. "A lot happened. I'd like to say none of it was my fault, but that would be a lie because everything that happens is in a way your own fault. I should have done things differently and that's on me."

Emily licked her lips. "It's this driveway on the right." Avery pulled into the driveway and sat back in her chair, turning to give Emily a small smile. "Thanks for the ride…" Emily wanted to say something else, but she couldn't think of anything to say.

Avery nodded. "Bye, Emily…bye, Scott."

Scott slammed the door and stalked up to the front door, opening it with so much gusto that the screen door smack back against the house. Emily watched him and shook her head.

"Avery…do you want to stay for dinner? My mom always makes so much more than is necessary for our family." Emily offered.

Avery was watching the house, watching Scott walk into the kitchen and receive a kiss on the cheek by his very sweet-looking mother. She wanted to say yes, she wanted to say yes so badly…but she couldn't.

"No, I'm okay. But thanks; I promised my dad I would eat with him tonight." She didn't know why she added that last part. Emily would have been fine with the simple "no".

But Emily nodded and got out of the car. "Thanks for the ride, anyways."

"Sure." Avery said, sounding kind of sad.

* * *

The next two weeks were mostly a blur to Avery. She didn't attend school at all, and hardly ever left her room except to get a snack every once in awhile and to stock up on more drugs from Marcus. But even when she went there, things were different. Marcus was more insistent on the way he hit on her, grabbing her too much and standing too close. Avery wasn't sober enough to do anything about it, or to care.

Avery didn't like passing out, and she didn't like throwing up, but she also didn't like the person she was without any drugs in her system. She wanted to be numb. Just numb, all the time, all day long. She didn't want to feel the pain of her mother deserting her anymore and she definitely didn't—no, couldn't—face what had happened to her that night. It was…she didn't even know. And thinking about it only made her feel nauseous.

One Saturday night Avery was looking through a photo album that Natalie had made for her with pictures from the summer and their junior year. Avery noticed with a pang in her heart that there was a very big difference between the pictures of Avery before her mother left, and after. She looked more like a ghost of the girl she used to be in the after pictures.

Struggling to a standing position—how much had she snorted? How much had she drank?—Avery stumbled to the floor length mirror on her wall and stood a few inches away from it, taking in her reflection.

Bones were jutting out all over the place; when had that happened? Her hipbones, collarbone, shoulder bones and wrist bones were all so much more distinct than they had been a few weeks ago. When was the last time she ate? Was she even hungry?

Avery put her hands on her slightly concave stomach but didn't feel anything. Why were the circles under her eyes so dark? How much sleep had she been getting? Avery looked over at her bed. It was all undone, the covers falling off the side of the bed, but Avery couldn't remember sleeping. She couldn't remember not sleeping, either.

Avery couldn't even hear herself breathing at that moment. She put a hand over her heart and was relieved to find that she had a heart beat. Reaching up to push her hair behind her ear, Avery noticed that she didn't feel her fingers brush against her face. Pinching her arm, Avery didn't feel a thing.

For the past few weeks all Avery had wanted was to be numb. Now that she literally was numb, she was scared out of her mind. Except that she wasn't scared. She wasn't scared because she was too deadened. She didn't even feel like she was in her own body anymore.

Suddenly, laying down felt like a really good idea. Avery crawled across the floor to her bed and hoisted herself up, collapsing against the pillows and pulling the covers up around her chin.

All she could feel was that she was cold. More than cold; she was freezing. If she wasn't so tired, she would have gotten up and gotten another blanket.

And then, it all went away. She wasn't cold anymore and she wasn't particularly tired, but that could have been because she was passed out cold.

Natalie was pissed off. How many times was she going to forgive Avery? And how many more times was Avery going to fuck up on purpose? Natalie could feel that Avery needed her, but she could also feel Avery pulling away every time Natalie forgave her and pulled her closer. Avery took shelter in a random guy's bed. She liked to be in control and that was the one part of her life that she _was_. Guys fell all over themselves and each other to get into Avery's pants and she knew just how to play them.

So as Natalie drove to Avery's house, she wondered if she was making a mistake. If Avery didn't want Natalie around, then she didn't want her around; it wasn't up to Natalie to decide whether or not she belonged in Avery's life.

And then another part of Natalie knew that Avery needed her. Avery was a stubborn girl, and sometimes needed to be forced into things. Natalie was going to her house and she was going to go into Avery's room where she was most likely smoking up a storm, and she was going to force Avery to talk to her.

They would stay up all night like they had done most of the summer and talk and steal from Avery's parents' liquor cabinet that had a huge dent made in it already thanks to the two of them. Sometime in the early morning hours Avery would fill her massive bath tub with hot water and bubble bath and get in it with Avery's expensive bikinis on—or nothing, depending on their condition—and act like rich debutants with nothing better to do but soak in the tub with a glass of expensive chardonnay.

Natalie let herself into the house and hurried up the stairs. Avery and Natalie had their problems, but they always worked out. Natalie knew that it would be no different this time; it just might take a little more time.

"Avery, it's me." Natalie said, knocking on the door and pushing it open. "I know we haven't—Avery?"

Natalie walked over to the bed where Avery lay curled in a tiny ball with the covers tightly pulled under her chin and nudged her.

"Wake up, sleepyhead." Natalie said in a singsong voice, pulling the covers off Avery. She winced at the sight of Avery's oddly pale, oddly thin body and immediately knew something was off. Avery was breathing hard and fast, reminding Natalie of the time her little brother hyperventilated during a soccer game.

Natalie knelt on the bed and lifted Avery gently, struggling to keep her sitting up. "Hey, wake up. Please, Avery…wake up." Natalie was close to crying at the sight of Avery's head lolling back lifelessly.

"Shit!" Natalie lowered Avery back onto the pillows and then fell backwards in her haste to get off the bed. She scrambled for her cell phone hidden somewhere in her bag.

Natalie turned her purse upside down and finally her cell phone tumbled out and onto the floor. Dialing 911, Natalie went into the bathroom and filled a glass with water.

Natalie spouted off the information needed to get Avery to a hospital, and then threw her phone on the ground and tossed the water in Avery's face in a desperate attempt to wake her up.

As Natalie watched Avery get carried to the ambulance on a stretcher, she realized for the first time how far gone Avery really was. If she had only gotten there twenty minutes earlier, or just sucked up her pride and apologized last week, maybe this wouldn't have happened.

Natalie climbed into the ambulance and curled her fingers around Avery's extremely pale hand. Tears streamed down Natalie's face as she watched the EMTs work quickly, talking very loudly as they started performing procedures on Avery.

Natalie closed her eyes and prayed for Avery to pull through. She _had_ to pull through.


	8. I Think I Took Too Much

A/N: Sorry it's been so long! I've been trying to upload the latest chapter for the past few days but something was wrong with either the website or my account and I wasn't able to upload it until now. I think I gave Avery a little more human traits in this chapter, and hopefully that's a good thing. Info. on Jack's past is coming soon.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Four Brothers. I only own any OCs you see and the plotline.

* * *

Natalie felt sick to her stomach. Watching the way the EMTs had strapped Avery to the stretcher and put an oxygen mask over her face and start performing CPR was too much for her to take. Natalie had already left Avery's father a good four messages with his assistant, and hadn't gotten a call back yet.

She had been in the waiting room for almost two hours and still didn't know anything about Avery's condition. She was beyond desperate and started scrolling down the list of contacts in Avery's cell phone in search of someone who could come and lend her a little support. Natalie paused at Kailey's name. She deserved to know, right? Then again, Natalie knew that if Kailey came to the hospital she would start bawling and demand more attention than even Avery. Natalie also knew that if—when!—Avery woke up; the last person she wanted to see would be Kailey. So she kept scrolling. On her second round through the failed names, Natalie noticed a name she hadn't noticed before: Jack.

The name rang a bell somewhere in the back of her head and Natalie vaguely remembered Avery talking about him sometime a few weeks ago. He was her only chance, since Natalie was pretty sure that Avery's voice conflicted with her voiced criticisms of the guy.

She pressed SEND and held the phone up to her ear. It was at this point that Natalie realized that her hand was shaking. She swallowed past the lump in her throat that she had been ignoring for the past couple of hours and concentrated on the ringing.

"Hullo?" A deep, muffled voice came through the line, mixed in with a bit of static.

Natalie licked her lips and sat up straighter for no real reason. "Hi…um, my name is Natalie, I'm Avery's friend? You know her, right?"

The guy on the other end cleared his throat. "Yeah," he said his voice hoarse.

Jack stalked through the automatic glass doors into the emergency room, wondering if he had some sort of curse put upon him. He and Avery weren't friends, they were hardly even acquaintances. And yet somehow, he always found himself having to help her out in some way, like he owed something to her, or like she was his responsibility in some way.

Why? What had he done to deserve that sort of job?

And yet, when that girl Natalie had told Jack that Avery was in the hospital, he felt something strange. He was scared, and even though just seconds earlier he had been fast asleep, he was suddenly wide awake.

Jack had bolted into Evelyn's room and woken her up the way he had done when he first moved in and had those horrible nightmares. Evelyn actually started to move over, ready to let him climb into bed with her, but then Jack started talking and she was up and ready to go in a matter of seconds, refusing to let him go alone.

Evelyn had dropped Jack off at the entrance and went to park the car, knowing how antsy he was to get inside.

As soon as Jack strode into the waiting room, a girl stood up from her chair, her brown eyes huge and round and her skin pale. The bags under her eyes told Jack that she hadn't relaxed at all since she found Avery and he felt bad all of a sudden. He knew what it was like finding someone who had overdosed, how scary it was. He also knew how Avery was feeling—that is, if she was even awake—and how scary that was as well.

"Are you Jack?" The girl asked hopefully, her hands shaking.

Jack nodded. "Have you heard anything?" He asked, praying that the girl wouldn't start crying.

Natalie shook her head. "I don't know what's going on at all…I'm scared."

She didn't need to tell Jack that she was scared; it was written all over her face. Jack pulled a hand through his hair and looked over his shoulder as he heard the doors open again, relaxing when he saw his mother walking towards him.

"Hello, honey, I'm Evelyn Mercer; Jack's mother." Evelyn said, taking Natalie's hand and giving her a soft smile. "How are you holding up?"

Natalie's bottom lip quivered and she nodded, her whole face crumpling with that one gentle touch. "I'm okay," she choked.

Evelyn tutted softly and pulled Natalie into her arms for a hug that the girl seemed to collapse into. Jack felt like a jackass for not having done anything when first meeting Natalie. He could have smiled, or something.

Natalie was full-out sobbing now, and Jack was growing more and more uncomfortable by the minute. "Um…I'm going to go get some coffee, do you guys want any?" He offered, already moving away.

Evelyn looked up and then pulled slowly away from Natalie. "No." She said sharply. "You stay here with her; I'm going to see what we can find out."

Evelyn led Natalie to Jack, who awkwardly put an arm around her. Natalie, thankfully, didn't seem to care who she was hugging, as long as she had a shoulder to cry into. And cry she did. Jack managed to bring her over to the chairs and sat down, watching as his mother negotiated with no mercy with the receptionist behind the counter, who kept trying to make her sit down.

"I don't care what your policies are; I want information, and I want it _now_." Evelyn was saying in a voice Jack knew well as her no-nonsense voice.

"Ma'am we can't give any information to people who are not the family of the patient." The nurse was saying in a calm-but-firm voice.

Evelyn plopped her bag down on the counter and glared at the woman. "I am that girl's mother and I want to know what is going on."

Jack nodded, silently encouraging his mother. He knew what Evelyn was thinking as she lied to this woman; Avery didn't have any family. Not family that cared enough to be there at the moment, and the last thing Avery needed was to wake up to find that no one had arrived to see that she had survived.

The nurse pursed her lips and then nodded, annoyed that she had lost this argument. "Excuse me a moment," she said, and the pushed through the doors leading to the emergency rooms.

Evelyn came and sat down with Jack and Natalie, pulling tissues out of her purse and passing them to Natalie, who was finally starting to calm down. Just as Jack was returning with a plastic cup of cool water from the water jug in the corner of the room, a doctor came out with a clipboard, followed by the receptionist who shot Evelyn a nasty glare as she returned to her position behind the counter.

"Mrs. Brown?" The doctor said, glancing down at the name on his clipboard. Evelyn nodded, looping her purse over her shoulder. As strong as Evelyn pretended to be the truth was, she was scared. Avery was young, beautiful, and still had dozens of hearts to break; she couldn't be gone.

"We pumped Avery's stomach…she took a lot of pills and a lot of drugs, Mrs. Brown. Do you know how long this has been going on?" Dr. Rogers asked, pulling his glasses off his face to rub his dry eyes.

Evelyn licked her lips nervously and shook her head. The way the doctor was acting was not a good sign, not that she really had a lot of experience with hospitals and doctors. In fact, the last time she had been either this scared or in a hospital was when she was waiting to find out Jack's fate.

"No…no, I don't know." She answered, shaking her head and reaching over to squeeze Jack's hand.

Dr. Rogers nodded and dropped the arm holding the clipboard to his side, sliding his glasses back up his nose. "Okay, well, the good news is that Avery's going to be okay. We're just waiting for her to wake up now…she's being moved into the recovery section of the hospital. The bad news is that not only did she overdose on more than one type of drug…the drugs all hit her harder than they should have because her stomach was completely empty. It appears that Avery hadn't eaten for several regular meals and possibly even days." He told the three of them.

Natalie pressed a hand over her mouth, ready to breakdown again. "When can we see her?" She asked hopefully. She hated waiting around, unable to reach her friend.

"Mrs. Brown can go in now, but regular visiting hours don't start until noon." Dr. Rogers said. "Mrs. Brown, if you'll follow me."

This left Natalie and Jack alone in the waiting room. They were relieved, yet still tense, and very tired. After a while the two of them wandered off in search of the cafeteria, finding that eating might give them a reason not to talk to each other.

* * *

Inside the plain, white and blue hospital room, Evelyn sat in a chair next to Avery's bed, watching her tiny body rise and fall with each slow, labored breath she took. A while later, Avery let out a little noise and then her deep blue eyes fluttered open.

"Evelyn?" She said, obviously surprised to see her there.

"How are you feeling, honey?" Evelyn asked softly, sitting up in her chair.

Avery made a face and swallowed. "My throat hurts a little."

"Your stomach was pumped, Avery."

Avery nodded, picking at a loose string on her blanket. Evelyn passed her a cup of water with a bendy straw and watched as Avery downed almost the entire glass.

"What are you doing here?" Avery asked Evelyn, her blue eyes seeming bigger, yet less full of color than the last time Evelyn saw her.

Evelyn pressed her lips together and fidgeted with her purse in her lap. "I'm here as your…mother, actually." She said gently, knowing that this could be a touchy subject for Avery. "You're friend Natalie couldn't get a hold of your father and we needed to get in here to see how you were doing."

Avery nodded, laying back against the pillows and raising her eyes to the ceiling. "Thank you, you didn't need to do that." She said in a low voice, but Evelyn could hear that she was already drifting away, closing herself off to anything Evelyn might try to get out of her.

Evelyn patted Avery's hand and stood up. "I think I'm going to go down to the cafeteria. You sleep, honey."

Avery rolled onto her side, her back to Evelyn, and didn't say anything. When she heard the hospital door close, Avery reached up and wiped the one single, salty tear from the corner of her eye. She hadn't been trying to draw attention to herself, or attempt suicide or fake an attempt at suicide. She had only been trying to get away from the pain she had been feeling for so long. All her father had to do was show up and tell Avery that he loved her. Was that really so hard for him to do?

* * *

Jack leaned against the doorframe, watching Avery sleep. He wanted to wake her up and yell at her; tell her that what she had done and what she was doing didn't affect just her. He had seen the look on Natalie's face, on his own mother's face, as they walked out of the hospital room. They were heartbroken and it brought back memories of the faces he saw when he was laying in the same position as Avery.

"You can come in, you know." Avery said in a muffled tone. Jack walked into the room and leaned against the windowed-wall across from Avery's bed. Avery groaned and sat up, running her fingers through her dirty hair. "You're burning a hole in my face, Jack." She snapped snappily.

Jack couldn't help but smile. "You're cute when you're pretending not to be helpless." He said jokingly.

Avery shot him a look. "I'm not helpless and that wasn't what you and everyone else think it was. I overdosed…I don't always know my own limits." She said simply, examining her bitten fingernails.

Jack nodded. "This is a bigger deal than you think, Avery. You could have died; you had to have your stomach pumped." He told her, his voice coming out harder than he had intended.

"So everyone keeps telling me." She said, rolling her eyes.

Jack shook his head, narrowing his eyes at Avery. "Are you going to tell me what happened? What made you overdose? Stop eating?"

Avery pulled her legs into the Indian-style position and reached onto the bedside table to snatch the Chap Stick Natalie had given to her. Applying it to her lips, Avery took in a deep breath and Jack relaxed a bit. She was finally going to give in. "I don't know, Jack. I haven't been hungry and I was in the mood for a little extra boost that night." Avery said flatly, bringing down her tone and Jack's hopes.

"What happened to you?" Jack asked, still trying to get inside her head a little bit.

Avery brought her eyes to Jack's and for the first time in all the time Jack had known her, her eyes were really open. "I was overwhelmed, okay?" She said her voice surprisingly strong. She started pulling on a loose string. "My dad hasn't been around at all lately, and just doesn't seem to care about me at all anymore. I had a big fight with Natalie awhile before and without her I had no one to talk to. There's just…a lot going on right now and I didn't know how else to deal with it. All I wanted was not to feel anything for just a little bit, and I guess I took it overboard."

The string Avery had been pulling out was at least a foot and a half long now. Jack slid his hands into his pockets and slowly lowered himself down into the vacant chair beside the bed. It wasn't a lot, but it was more than Jack was expecting, and that was all he could ask for.

"Take it from me, Avery; you don't need to drugs to clear your head." Jack said gently, wondering what had come over him. "I used to think the only way to clear my head was to stop feeling by taking drugs. But when you stop feeling, it doesn't make it go away forever and when it comes back, it comes back hard. Are you happier right now than you were that night before you overdosed?"

Avery swallowed and shook her head. "No, I guess not."

Avery should have felt happy about the three people who had come to the hospital for her…should have been happy that they all seemed to care about her. But she just couldn't.

Avery felt ashamed and embarrassed, knowing that they had lost all respect that they might have had for her. When was it going to end? When was Avery going to stop disappointing people?

And what was she going to do now? She couldn't go home…not for a while, at least. A big part of Avery knew that she wouldn't overdose again, that she had learned her lesson. But she was afraid to be alone, because when she was alone she was left with her thoughts. Avery's thoughts were too fucked up right now for her to face alone.

Jack, as though he had read Avery's mind, cleared his throat. "You know you can't be alone right now, right?" He asked carefully.

Avery nodded as she stared down at the long thread she had pulled out of the blanket. Pretty soon, there would just be a pile of string in her lap.

"Well, my mom decided you'll stay with us for a little while." Jack finished.

Avery looked up at him sharply. "Why not go to Natalie's?"

Jack shrugged. "My mom doesn't think Natalie deserves that burden."

Ouch. Avery winced and then looked back at her lap. So Jack was clearly pissed off.

* * *

Avery didn't feel fragile, but that didn't stop Evelyn from treating her like she would break any second. When Avery was released the next day, Evelyn drove her and Jack to Avery's house. Evelyn sent Jack and Avery upstairs to pack a few bags, including a bag of school things, and Evelyn stayed in the kitchen and wrote a letter to Avery's father explaining everything.

Avery wondered what her father would think when he saw the letter, and almost wished that Evelyn wouldn't write it. It crossed her mind that her father might be suspicious, thinking Avery was kidnapped or something, and then she realized that her father hadn't even noticed that she had nearly died a few nights ago, or had been in the hospital for the past couple of days. What would he care that she was staying with a random family he didn't even know on the other side of Detroit?

When Avery took Jack to her room, he stood in the doorway and stared at the ground where the empty cocaine baggie and bottle of pills were knocked over. With one look at his face, Avery could tell it made him nervous.

And it _did_ make him nervous; not only did it bring bad memories back to Jack, but it also helped him realize what Avery had really done to herself. He knew that Avery was far from innocent, but seeing the weapons that had put her in such a helpless state caused a cold shiver to creep up his spine.

Avery threw clothes into a few expensive-looking bags, throwing them around like they were rags, and Jack watched her move around. She had gotten even skinnier; there was no doubt about that. He wondered what she saw when she looked at herself; he'd heard that girls with eating disorders might be really skinny, but see a fat girl when they look in the mirror. Then again, Jack didn't really believe that it was possible to see something that wasn't there.

Once again, Jack found himself wondering how on earth a girl who had everything laid out at her feet could fuck up so badly. Avery's house was enormous; bigger than any he had ever seen before. Her room was basically the size of the entire upstairs in the Mercer household, and Jack assumed that Avery could get anything she wanted. If Jack had that kind of life, came from such a good family, he doubted he would ever get mixed up anything as deep as what she was involved in.

Avery thrust a few bags into Jack's arms, her eyes cold. She wasn't happy about the situation, but she was going along with it. Jack figured she was just being stubborn, not wanting to give in, but he knew that she was just as scared of being alone as they were.

So there was a deal. There were rules. There were restrictions. Avery was in hell. She wasn't allowed to go out unless Jack was going to be with her. She wasn't allowed to stay out past eleven (eleven! That was a child's curfew). Avery actually had chores to do, as well. She did her own laundry, helped with dinner, set and cleared the dinner table, and had to keep her (Jerry's) room clean.

There was also the unfortunate and completely unfair rule that Avery was to go to school. And not even her own school; the gross public school that Jack sometimes attended. Avery was more embarrassed about that than pissed off about any other thing.

Evelyn had no mercy for what Avery was going through right now. She seemed to think that treating Avery like any other child in her family would help her shape up. This only made Avery want to rebel.

And this wasn't even the worst part. Avery and Jack had never seen eye-to-eye per se, but they hadn't exactly fought before. It seemed that living together made it hard for them to avoid arguing. It had only been two hours after Avery got settled and they had gotten in their first fight.

Jack had opened the bathroom door when Avery was in there, peeing, and picked his toothbrush up and started brushing his teeth like she wasn't even there.

"Excuse me," Avery had snapped, "what the hell are you doing?"

Jack glanced over, scrubbing at his teeth as if seeing her for the first time, then leaned down and spit into the sink. "Brushing my teeth." He said simply, bringing his toothbrush back to his mouth.

"Um…can you see I'm in the middle of doing something?" Avery looked down at herself and then back at Jack.

He rolled his eyes and didn't look at her.

Avery wasn't willing to give up that easily. "I'm not one of your brothers, Jack. I'm a _girl_ and girls like their privacy."

Jack spit into the sink again. "It's not all about you, Avery. There's one bathroom in this house besides my mom's and if I need to get in here then I come in. It's not like you're doing anything girl-like. You're just peeing."

Avery glared. "It doesn't matter what I'm doing. I had the door closed, Jack!"

"Why don't you just go in my mom's bathroom if you need privacy?" Jack demanded.

Avery was at a loss for words, opening and closing her mouth a few times like a fish. "Because she never gave me permission!" Avery yelled finally.

Jack groaned. "You don't need permission to go to the bathroom. Just do your business and leave if you're going to be a fucking princess and throw a fit about it."

Avery threw the toilet paper roll at Jack. "Fuck you; you're the one who barged in on _me_ here, okay? Now can you please leave so that I can finish up?"

Jack spit one last time in the sink, ran his toothbrush under the water, tapped it on the edge of the sink and dropped it into the plastic cup that held the other toothbrushes. He smirked at Avery as he wiped the back of his mouth with one hand and opened the door with the other. "If you have to take a dump, just put the rubber band right here around the knob. That's the sign." Jack said, picking up a rubber band from the bathroom counter.

He slipped out of the bathroom before Avery could respond and she pulled at her hair in frustration.

It didn't take long for Evelyn and Bobby and Angel to get used to the stomping of feet and slamming of doors coming from both Avery and Jack. They'd be sitting in the family room watching TV while Evelyn knitted and hear unclear yelling, and then one door would close. Sometimes Bobby would count down from three, estimating the amount of time it would take the next door to close.

One time Jack came running down the stairs, obviously pissed off, and Bobby leapt out of his chair. "Give it a rest, would you?" He snapped.

Jack's eyes were blazing. "Do you know…she's so…I can't even…Mom, how long is she staying here?" He settled on, turning to Evelyn.

She was smiling with amusement, as were Angel and Bobby. "Jack, she's only been here for a few days. She still has to recover from a lot."

Jack raised his hand to say something, then just shook his head and bounded out the front door to take a walk to cool off.

Angel looked at his mother. "Either those two have a lot of sexual tension and you're going to have to lock both of their doors, or they're going to rip each other's heads off."

Evelyn wasn't too worried about them ripping each other's heads off. The sexual tension however? That was something she would have to keep her eyes wide open for.


	9. Her Delicate Soul

Disclaimer: We all know i don't own anything from Four Brothers

* * *

Jack hardly saw Avery at school. In fact, he had been going there more often because he figured he'd run into her less there than anywhere else. Sometimes when he saw her though—a quick passing in the halls, he wouldn't even have paid attention if he hadn't subconsciously been looking for her just so he could avoid her—it almost made up for the times she wasn't in sight…in a really bad way.

Avery was growing skinnier and skinner by the hour, it seemed; her cheeks hollow and sunken in, circles under her eyes that were so dark they might as well have been applied by makeup, not to mention the way her collarbone stuck out a mile wide. That wasn't even the worst part; she wore Jerry's old sweatpants and random t-shirts or tanktops, just disappearing inside the clothes. Avery walked around with her head bowed low, avoiding eye contact with anyone and everyone.

Jack had been leaning against his lockers, scribbling down the answers from Emily's math homework into his own notebook in the few spare minutes he had before he was noticeably late for class, when he glanced up and saw Avery being trailed by a few guys in the grade below them, jeering at her. They threw catcalls and wolf whistles her way, as well as a few crude comments that didn't even make her flinch. Jack watched, his brown furrowed, wondering when Avery was going to snap and hit them the way she would if Jack had been poking fun at her. But Avery just kept walking, staring down at the floor as if she were walking across a hallway filled with rattlesnakes and needed to watch where she was going.

Avery disappeared inside a classroom down the hallway and the guys all broke into disappointed shouts and groans. Jack slapped Emily's notebook closed and stuffed it inside her locked, slamming it closed before striding down the hallway to where the group of guys stood.

"Hey, guys," He said, a wide grin pasted across his face that matched theirs.

They all looked at him, the smiles still playing across their features, a question in their eyes. Jack had never spoken to any of them before in his life; he wasn't really an outgoing guy.

"Hey…what's up?" One of them said, glancing around at his friends, as if to say, _What's this fag up to?_

Jack shrugged, still smiling, crossing his arms. "I just saw you guys talking to that new girl…pretty fine, right?" He said, sarcasm dripping from his clenched teeth.

None of the idiots caught on, however. They grinned around at each other, slapping hands and pounding fists. "A bit shy, but I'm sure we can get her to open up." A tall redhead said, peering through the window of the closed classroom door. His friends made sounds of agreement and excitement.

Jack was disgusted, to say the least. By the way these assholes looked around at each other, he knew that by _open up_, they didn't mean getting Avery to spill her feelings. He clenched his fists, doing everything in his willpower not to punch the life out of each one of them.

"Yeah, yeah, right," Jack said, laughing in the same hiccupping, jerky way they all did. Then, when he was sure he had all of their attention, Jack let the false smile drop off his face, taking a menacing step towards all of them and lowering his voice. "If either of you lay a hand on her—or even _look_ at her again—I will kill you with my bare hands…after a great, _great_ deal of torturing."

While in most cases, someone would laugh off this type of threat at the unlikelihood of it happening, these boys knew who Jack Mercer was. Most importantly, they knew who Jack Mercer's brothers were. They also knew that Jack's lame threat was actually more terrifying than any specific threat someone else might have said. The Mercers had plenty of disturbing tricks up their stretched-out-from-their-muscles sleeves, and these guys weren't about to push their luck.

Jack watched the guys disappear around the corner at the end of the hallway and then set off calmly to class. As he walked through the halls, a disturbing thought came to him; why had he stuck up for Avery? They hadn't started getting along any better with time, and Avery wasn't in any immediate danger, either. There was just this annoying feeling in the pit of his stomach whenever Avery was around or whenever she popped into his head. And the rage and fury that came over Jack when he saw her getting harassed by those boys just took over his body. He hadn't even really been thinking as he threatened those guys. If he _had_ been thinking, he probably would have thrown in a few scary words like _knives_, or _intestines_…or at least _gasoline_. Jack had learned how to threaten people a long time ago…what had come over him?

With a shake of his head to get his bearings, Jack kicked his math classroom door open and walked to his seat, ignoring his tiny math teacher and her squeaky voice as she tried to scold him for coming to class halfway through. Out of the corner of his eye, Jack caught Emily staring at him.

"What?" He stage-whispered, rolling his eyes over to her.

"You look weird." Emily said, frowning.

Jack shook his head, looking down at his notebook. "Thanks, Em." He said sarcastically. The thing he hated about Emily was that she was so good at reading people—he included. Jack had never been very good at "sharing his feelings" or any of that bullshit and he hated when people tried to get inside his head. To be honest, Jack wasn't sure there was all that much up there to talk about.

"Whatever, Mr. Moody." Emily said, rolling her eyes, clearly annoyed. "I was wondering if I could take some pictures of you at Lee's, or something."

Jack turned his head slowly and stared at Emily. _What?_ "What?" He asked, narrowing his eyes.

Emily smiled slightly. "It's for my art project; it's going to be entered in a contest to be hung at Detroit Museum of Modern Art. I decided to make it a photography project and I want it to be raw and edgy. You're the only person I know that really has that edgy sort of look. I think the camera will be able to see your soul." Emily knew she sounded stupid saying stuff like that, but she really believed that cameras could see what people couldn't. Maybe if she could show Jack the pain behind his eyes that she saw everyday, he would finally open up to her…or anyone. It wasn't that Emily wanted to know his feelings; she just didn't want him to keep them to himself anymore.

Jack laughed, attracting attention from a few people in the two rows ahead of them. Luckily it didn't reach to the teacher—not that Jack would have shook in his shoes anyway—and shook his head deliberately. "No…no way. You're not even pointing your camera in my direction, babe." He said in a way that didn't give Emily any room to protest.

She didn't say anything, but she plotted plenty. She was going to get Jack…get him just when he least expected it, and that was what would make it so incredibly raw and real.

* * *

Jack leaned against the car, glaring at Avery as she walked near him. She stood in front of him, staring into the car until he moved off the door so that she could get in and then slammed the door and pulled her seatbelt on. Jack hit the hood of the car as he walked around it and huffed into his own seat.

Avery tapped her foot on the bottom of the car, wondering how long Jack was planning on staring before giving up and starting the car and taking them back to the house. Finally, she turned her head and shot him a death look through her eyes. "What are you waiting for?" She snapped.

Jack's eyes narrowed slightly and he breathed deeply for a few moments before squeezing his eyes shut, turning towards the steering wheel and opening his eyes to drive them to the house. Avery crossed her arms over her chest, slumping down in her seat and staring out the window.

"What? No way!" Jack walked into the kitchen to the sound of Avery's wavering voice. He turned towards her in shock, having never heard her sound so upset before. She wasn't going to cry, he could tell right away. He couldn't tell, however, if she was faking her feelings or if they were genuine.

"Avery, honey, it's the deal your father and I made so that you could stay here. I just don't think it's a good idea for you to go home just yet…and this could really help get to that stage." Evelyn was saying softly, staying safely on the other side of the counter and giving Avery her space to be angry.

Avery slammed one of the chairs into the kitchen table. "I'm not fucking crazy!" She shouted, sounding a little crazy.

"Jesus, watch your mouth." Bobby said, pointing a finger in Avery's face as he walked into the kitchen from the family room. She glared at him with a fury Jack had yet to see.

"Fuck you, Bobby." She spat, just to spite him.

Bobby whirled around, his eyes flashing. "What did you say to me?" He demanded.

Avery, instead of backing off, stepping closer, drawing herself to her full height—something she hadn't done lately, preferring to hunch in her oversized clothes—and was almost as tall as Bobby. "You heard me."

"Bobby, back off." Evelyn said sharply, in a voice that Bobby knew better than to disobey. He shook his head at Avery and then walked off, slamming the front door behind him. "Avery," Evelyn said, spreading her palms face down on the counter. "Please."

"I'm not saying anything to him." Avery said, shaking her head as she backed out of the kitchen. "I won't…if you think this is going to _help_ me, then _you're_ the crazy one. I might as well go wash down another bottle of pills right now." Avery turned and walked up the stairs.

Evelyn looked troubled. Jack bit the inside of his cheek, deliberating. He could ask his mother what was up, get the facts. Or he could ask Avery, possibly get something thrown at his head, and find out what Evelyn couldn't tell him—what exactly was so bad about this thing.

When Jack opened Avery's door, she was lying on her back on the bed, spread eagle. She didn't appear to have cried or anything like that. She didn't even look upset anymore and Jack guessed that it had just been a show. He wondered briefly how much of her actions were fake.

"So what's going on?" He asked, closing the door behind him. He didn't venture into Avery's room very often; it felt weird. Usually because he was avoiding her and she was seeking him out just to annoy him. Jack looked around Jerry's old room, taking in the baseball posters and the one autographed ball set up on the highest shelf of the dresser. It was signed by some baseball player on the local team and meant absolutely nothing.

"I'm going to some shrink to talk about my 'feelings'." She sounded absolutely disgusted by this fact. "Like I'm crazy, or something."

Jack rubbed his chin. That was it? That was what her little temper tantrum was all about? "Avery, a lot of sane people go to psychologists. It's a really common thing these days.

Avery didn't answer at first. She breathed slowly on the bed for a few moments, her eyes closed and then propped herself up on her elbows. Jack could see her angles just as sharply as ever, and he winced a little bit, wondering when the bone would poke through the skin, at what point would Avery finally breakdown? How much more could her body, and her mind, take? But there was also something different about how she looked right then and Jack had to take a step backwards involuntarily. Her eyes shown purple in the setting sun, her dark brown hair cascading over her shoulders. The dark circles and hollow cheeks that had earlier seemed haunting, now seemed seducing. Jack's palms grew sweaty and his mouth dry.

"Did you come here to make me feel better? Because it's really working." Sarcasm rolled off her tongue, but her voice was candy sweet. Jack licked his lips, aware of his heart rate picking up. What was going on?

"I…I just…I didn't know what was going on downstairs. I guess…if it makes you feel any better, I saw a shrink a few years ago." Jack hadn't meant to say it; it wasn't something he broadcasted.

Avery's eyebrows rose in surprise and she sat up. "Really?" She shifted on the bed, making room for Jack without deliberately inviting him. For the first time, Jack hesitated before going near her. To be honest, he couldn't be sure what he would do if he was any closer to her. He went and sat down though, first tightly on the edge, and then slowly moving back to lean against the wall, his feet still touching the ground.

"When I first came to the house. Evelyn was all worried about me because I didn't talk really and set me up with someone from her company. It was weird at first, you know? The first few sessions were basically a staring contest with this complete stranger who sometimes threw out questions, trying to lure me out of my shell. She brought candy and shit like that…even tried convincing me to draw, probably to analyze my pictures. I was ten at the time, but I wasn't a normal ten-year-old. Crayons didn't entice me the way they would a normal kid. I took them and started drawing, smirking to myself as I drew morbid pictures that I just thought of at the top of my head just to freak out the woman."

Avery was listening with wide eyes and open ears. Glancing at her, Jack saw a young, scared girl who needed someone to trust. It freaked him out a little, but not as much as the strong pull he felt inside, wanting to be that person that she could trust. Suddenly Jack didn't want Avery going to a shrink; he didn't want her talking to a complete stranger about her problems when she couldn't even tell him them.

Jack stopped talking and looked down at his lap, picking at a hangnail by his thumb. He hated himself for a moment for thinking about Avery in that way…whatever _that way_ was. He wouldn't admit anything to himself just yet.

"Go on…what happened?" Avery asked, hugging her knees to her chest and looking very much like a child waiting to hear the end to a good story.

Jack shook his head, knowing that the ending to this story was nothing exciting; just like the ending to every children's book. It might be a nice picture to paint, but in the end it was never all that satisfying. So Jack decided to tell Avery what she needed to hear. He knew she needed to go to a shrink; she may be complicated, but she wasn't as complicated as he had been. Jack knew himself, he knew that he was stubborn. He didn't have a problem going to a shrink; he hadn't talked because he wanted to prove a point.

"I cracked. I hadn't spoken for five months and here I was…telling all these thoughts and feelings I hadn't even known I had to someone who I knew nothing about. And she surprised me; she talked back and gave me advice. Well, not really, but she asked me questions and helped me get to the advice all on my own. It was a sort of…growing experience, I guess. I realized I could survive on my own, but it never hurts to have someone there to help you along the way."

Jack hadn't looked at Avery during this whole bullshit confession. He felt guilty for leading her on, tricking her like this, but he knew it was necessary. Finally, he lifted his eyes to hers and Avery smiled slightly. She leaned forward, excruciatingly slowly and kissed Jack on the cheek.

Jack was taken back instantly to the moment when he was twelve years old, at the park with Benny Williams, a girl with sweet, curly brown hair and freckles dusted across her pert little nose. Jack had had a crush on Benny since the beginning of the school year and that he was now alone with her was a dream, to say the least.

Jack had never kissed a girl before. Not anything big anyways. His hand twitched by his side, wanting desperately to touch her soft skin. Throughout their time sitting on the bench he had slowly, casually been inching closer to Benny.

"Jack…" Benny said softly, just as Jack was trying to convince himself to just go for it. He looked up and saw her smiling sweetly up at him, her dark brown eyes blinking adorably. She was giving him permission to kiss her; she was saying that if he made the move, he wouldn't be turned down. And when he did move forward, closing his eyes and pressing his mouth to hers, stiff at first and then relaxing and letting his mouth open a little, Benny kissed him back with more confidence than he could have imagined from such a sweet girl.

Jack knew by the look in Avery's dark blue eyes that she was giving him permission the same way Benny had all those years ago. Jack, who had been nervous and fidgety before, was overcome with a calm feeling. He knew what he was doing this time; he was hardly inexperienced.

With a grace and ease that he had momentarily forgotten he had, Jack moved forward, sliding his hand behind Avery's neck and pulling her towards him. When their lips met, the electricity that shot through them was much stronger than Jack had thought it would be. He was attracted to Avery, obviously—she was a total babe—but he didn't think it would be _that_ intense.

It was obvious that they needed more than kissing. Avery was grabbing fistfuls of Jack's shirt, pushing it out of the way to get her hands underneath and run her hands over the hard muscles of Jack's stomach. His hands were already unzipping her oversized navy blue hoodie and pushing it over her shoulders, revealing the thin, lacy black bra underneath.

They moved back on the bed, their clothes disappearing as if they had been wished off—and maybe they had. A small voice in the back of Jack's head told him that this probably wasn't the best thing for Avery right now; but then a small noise escaped her lips and Jack convinced himself he was helping her.

It was well past dark when Avery woke up to an empty space beside her. Jack must have slipped out sometime after she fell asleep on a cloud of bliss. To be honest, she could never have imagined Jack being so satisfying. To had been the best sex she'd had in a very, _very_ long time…if not ever. Avery shot up in bed, her head pounding slightly, scared of the thought that just entered her head.

Jack couldn't possibly be the best sex she'd ever had…right?

She got out of bed and stretched out her slightly sore muscles before throwing a sweatshirt over her head and trudging across the hall to the bathroom for a shower. There was a strange feeling that had overcome her. She was calmer than she had been in months. There wasn't crazy activity going on in her head, yet it wasn't completely dead, either. Avery had gotten to this calm serenity without using drugs or drinking alcohol. Yet, when she looked down, she saw that she was scrubbing her skin raw with the soap.

Avery sat down on the bottom of the shower and let her tears hide in the water streaming down her face from the running shower head. Once again, Avery had turned to sex as a way to escape. Once again, it had worked better than anything else. And once again, she was hating herself, the good feeling sliding away as if it had never even been there to begin with.

A/N: Sorry it's been so long! I hope it was worth it...


	10. May You Never Go Away To Stray

**Disclaimer: I only own my own characters! Bob Dylan's "On A Night Like This" is responsible for the title.**

"Avery, when are you coming home?" Natalie's voice was small and distant on the other end of the phone line. Avery was out on the rooftop outside of Jerry's room, smoking a cigarette. She had a blanket wrapped around her to ward off the cold, but that didn't stop it from seeping through and causing her to shiver.

She blew the smoke out of her mouth, leaning back on her elbows and looking up at the stars. Somehow, they always seemed brighter in the winter. "I don't know, Natalie." She said softly.

Natalie sighed on the other end. "You don't know what it's like here without you, Avery. It's…weird. Kailey hates me, as we both know. John is always trying to get me to talk to him and relay messages to you…I don't really—I don't have anyone to talk to really." Avery bit down on her bottom lip; why would Natalie even want her as a friend? Avery had never been a good friend to her, not really, at least. She had ditched her and disappointed her and left her hanging countless times. It was what she did—there was no denying it.

"I'm trying, Natalie. It's weird being here; I don't know anyone and Jack is…well we're basically strangers." Avery said to her friend, telling her what she wanted to hear.

"I have to go, though…school tomorrow." Avery managed a dry laugh and said goodbye to Natalie before hanging up. She looked at her phone for a few moments in her hand, debating her next move. Before she could change her mind, she pressed SEND and heard the ringing in her ear.

"Julien Brown." Her father's voice was familiar and heartbreaking in her ear.

"Dad?" She said, before she lost her nerve.

There was a moment of silence. "Avery." He said gently, sounding very tired. "Thanks for finally calling me."

Avery pushed her hair back from her face as the wind picked it up. "I didn't…I just haven't known what to say." She said quietly.

"Avery, you overdosed? And then the next thing I know you're staying with some stranger who decided it was her duty to help you get better? This is ridiculous…where are you? I'll send a car for you." Julien said to his daughter, his voice raising.

"But I thought you had an arrangement with Evelyn to keep me here." Avery responded softly, shocked that her father had so easily offered to bring her home.

Julien cleared his throat and she heard him swallow something and would have bet money that it wasn't water. "This was before I spoke to you—you sound perfectly healthy."

Avery looked down at her shaking body, at her pale skin and sharp angles. She thought about the never-ending hunger she had for food—yes—but also for physical contact, for alcohol—even a little—and most importantly, for drugs. All drugs, any drug, even the tiniest bit would satisfy her for a little while. And she thought about the fight she had to go through every second of every day as she tried to make herself better.

"I'm not better." She said in a voice teetering on the verge of a whisper.

"Avery, this woman works in social services; she knows nothing about rehabilitation. Give me the address, Jonah will be there as quickly as he can."

Avery's mouth opened uncertainly. "I don't…Dad; I don't want to come home." She said suddenly, realizing it was the truth. She was sort of warming up to the Mercers—aside from Jack, save for that little tryst—and it was nice being part of a real family. Even when her mother had been around and her brother had shown his face more than once every few months, they still weren't really a family. There were always frowns and dark corners with secrets lurking in them, there was always yelling—and not the in-the-moment angry the way Bobby and Jack got—_real_ yelling with broken glass and racking sobs. It wasn't that Avery needed to get _better_; she needed to get _good_ for the first time in her life. She needed to learn how to stop being the girl she had been her entire life.

"Avery, this isn't your decision to make; I'll enroll you in a real rehabilitation course, with trained professionals—only the best money can buy. You have to be going to school; you have to be with your friends, living your life. You have to be home." Julien said firmly and Avery could hear him turning pages in the background. He was actually doing work while talking to her on the phone.

"Dad, why aren't you listening to me? What would I come home to? The maids and the cook and an otherwise empty house? You spend most nights in the office—you didn't even pick up the fucking phone when Natalie called to tell you I was in the hospital." Avery felt a tear slide down her cheek. "You didn't even try calling me when you found out I was staying somewhere else. Why would I want to come home?" She was sobbing now, hardly able to catch her breath.

"Avery--."

"No! I'm happy here, Dad! Sort of, at least. I'm going to school and staying there…I'm being productive with my free time. I learned how to do my own laundry." She told him, sniffling.

"I don't understand, Avery…what's there that isn't here?" He asked, sounding like he was truly befuddled.

Avery sat up straight, wiping her eyes dry. "Love," she said flatly. "I'll call you in a few days, if you can pencil me in." Before he could respond, she had already hung up and was climbing back through the window.

* * *

Jack alternated between looking at the road and glancing at Avery as he drove. Finally, after a few times, Avery groaned and looked up. "What, Jack?" She snapped.

He shook his head, looking back at the road as he turned into the school parking lot. "Just wondering what you were doing."

"It's called studying—you should try it sometime." Avery grumbled, closing her book with the note cards and loose papers inside it and stuffing it into her bag as Jack parked the car.

"You should try being less of a bitch—maybe you'd make some friends." He mumbled, pushing his door open and stretching out of the car. Avery slammed her door on the other side and started marching ahead of Jack, refusing to walk in with him.

"Jackie, you wouldn't believe what happened last night!" Drew cried, throwing his arm around Jack's shoulders as he caught up to his friend. Jack raised his eyebrows, trying to show interest.

"What happened, Drew?" He asked.

Drew grinned and pumped his fist into the air. "Level twelve of SwampLand. I beat the fucking game!" He exclaimed triumphantly, causing several people in the parking lot to look over at the noise.

Jack was actually impressed; he had only been able to get to level eight. "Wow, that's pretty cool. What'd it feel like?" He asked, smiling at his friend's excitement over a video game.

Drew threw his hands in the air as they walked through the school doors, tilting his head back. "It felt like sex with the _hottest_ girl you've ever met. Maybe even better than that." He drew in a deep breath through his nose, keeping his eyes closed for a few moments and only opening them again when he tripped over a pair of legs that belonged to a student lounging against the wall.

Jack laughed, hitching his backpack higher up on his shoulder. "That's motivation for me to win the game."

"Damn right it is." Drew was still grinning like an idiot as the two boys pulled their locker doors open and unloaded their nearly empty lockers. Emily appeared at Jack's elbow and leaned against the closed locker next to his, a pile of books in her arms.

She eyed the ecstatic Drew carefully and then trained her eyes back on Jack. "I saw Avery in the library on my way over." She said casually, opening a bright green binder and flipping through a few contact sheets of photos. Jack couldn't understand how Emily was able to keep good grades when she was so completely absorbed with photography.

"Great," he said unenthusiastically. He hated that he was always being related to her by people—they hardly even spoke to each other.

Emily wrinkled her nose at him, sensing his bad attitude, and then she pulled out a few thick sheets of photo paper, glancing around before she put them on top of her binder and held it out to Jack and Drew. "I decided not to focus on you for my piece, since you were not cooperating. I got these over the past few days—last night's are unbelievable." Emily smiled proudly, but as Jack looked through the pictures, he saw nothing good about them.

Avery looking haunting in a way that made Jack's entire body go up in Goose Bumps. In one of them she was passed out against the wall, her head lolling to the side, her mouth open. Her shirt was pushed up to just above her belly button, displaying a nearly concave stomach, and a nasty bruise on her lower ribs that went up even farther beneath her shirt. As he kept going through, he saw more and more pictures similar to this in the most disturbing way. Pale, almost gray skin, dark circles under her eyes, sallow cheeks, droopy eyelids…beside him, Drew sucked in air and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Emily, this isn't funny…." Jack said stiffly, shoving the binder back at an astonished Emily.

"But Jack—I mean, I took care of her after taking the pictures, of course. Look, you haven't even seen the best ones!" She rifled through the small pile and showed him two color photographs—surprising, since all the others had been in black and white. Jack held Emily's gaze for a long time before he let himself look down at the pictures.

He felt a smile stretch across his face without meaning for it to happen. Avery was in a pale pink thermal shirt, sitting cross-legged in jeans on the floor of Lee's basement, leaning back against the couch and Emily must have been standing just over her because when Avery leaned her head back and gave a big, closed-eyed, cheesy smile, it was nearly a bird's eye view. In the other picture, Avery's legs were draped over her friend Natalie's lap and her arms were slung around her neck. The two girls had their foreheads pressed together and were talking and smiling, their cheeks pink and their eyes locked only on each other.

These were the pictures that best represented Avery—not the ones with the stiff middle fingers blocking her face as she threw up in the bushes, or the ones with her sandwiched between a couch and a guy or a wall and a guy, or passed out in the backseat of some stranger's car.

"See?" Emily said smugly as Jack handed the binder back to her a little less forcibly this time. "I knew you'd like them."

Jack quickly wiped the smile off his face and fixed her with a steady gaze, one eyebrow raised. "Don't do your project on Avery—she's not up for public gawking." He said in a low voice.

Emily sighed and followed after him as he started off towards a class. "It's not about making fun of her, Jack—this is _real_. This is so real I feel like I've ripped off her skin and looked at her insides."

Jack made a face and looked at her for this comment—since when did Emily get so graphic? She rolled her eyes and shook a hand in the air, as if to rid it of the memory of that comment.

"What I mean is that this journey she is going through is so common, yet so rarely documented that it's practically my duty as a citizen—not to mention an artist—capture her in her most painful and monumental moments. They are such polar opposites I could slap them on a piece of poster board and still call it art—and probably win first prize." Emily grabbed Jack's arm and made him stop walking and face her, because she knew that she wasn't getting through to him. "Think about it this way—seeing the way she once was, and still sometimes is, might help her make a full recovery. Who wants to see pictures like these of themselves and keep living their life the same way?"

Jack just breathed for a few long moments. He knew Emily had a point, but he also knew how fragile Avery was. And anyway, since when did she have such a breakthrough that she was willingly smiling? "Whatever, Emily—do what you want." He said gruffly, because he really didn't want to say no anymore. All he wanted was to see more of those color photographs, since he wasn't seeing much of it first-hand.

* * *

"She's gained weight." Jerry said, sipping his beer and peering out of his kitchen to where Avery sat on the carpet, little Daniela between her legs, leaning against the support of Avery's stomach, helping the girl play with her toys.

"She's also screwing Jackie-O, here." Angel said, ruffling Jack's hair as the younger boy nudged away from him.

"Shut up, Angel." Jack grunted, glancing over his shoulder to make sure that Evelyn hadn't heard him. Angel and Bobby had wrestled—literally—it out of him one afternoon after Avery had left the house with Evelyn to go to her first therapy appointment. The girl had finally agreed to go and Jack suspected it might have something to do with her newfound drive towards happiness. Of course, Jack and Avery hadn't slept together since that night—they'd hardly even spoken—but somehow the brothers knew.

"You better watch yourself, boy." Jerry warned with a finger in Jack's face. "Rehab girls are a trip."

Jack made a face at him. "Make sure Camille doesn't hear this." He said grabbing a grape from the bowl on the counter and popping it into his mouth.

"So what, exactly, does this mean about our little brother?" Jerry asked, ignoring Jack's warning and turning to his other brothers. "Would this make him bisexual?"

Bobby laughed and clapping Jack on the back. "Never—he's hiding it, is all. This is all one big cover-up for his hidden gayness.

Jack glared darkly at Bobby. "Fuck off, Bobby." He said gruffly, rolling his shoulders to get Bobby's hand off of him.

"'Fuck off, Bobby,'" Bobby mimicked in a high, nasally voice. "You may talk tough but we know it's all a façade. And don't talk that way to me." He smacked Jack upside the head and led the brothers into the main room, Jack in the rear, rubbing at the back of his head.

* * *

"That sounds good." Avery said in a soft voice, and Jack's head whipped up, surprised that Avery walked into the living room without him hearing her. It was just the two of them at home that Saturday—Evelyn was gone that weekend with a case upstate and Bobby and Angel had both disappeared to "take care of some business" that Jack, of course, was not allowed to attend to as well.

Jack had taken his guitar out of his room for one of the first times ever, since his brothers usually made fun of him for having it at all, and was enjoying playing in an open room with the afternoon winter sun spilling in through the big window. He watched Avery cross the room and sit down at the piano in the corner, resting her fingers lightly on top of the keys as she stared down at them.

"I used to play." She said, dropping down on a key, and then another and another as she fell into a pretty, flowing song and when Jack closed his eyes, he could almost remember the words. His heart pounded in his ears because this song meant something to him—he knew it—but he couldn't remember how.

Avery was singing softly and Jack stood quietly and walked to sit next to her on the bench, listening to her sing the words in a soft, pretty voice that he wanted to capture in a jar and never let go. She stopped singing and smiled in embarrassment at Jack, her fingers still moving expertly across the keys without her even looking.

"A lullaby my father used to sing to me. He had a beautiful voice. I can play another on the guitar, but it's not really a lullaby." She said and shrugged her shoulders, as if she realized she has shared too much with him.

"All the Pretty Horses." Jack nodded, a smile stretching across his lips. "Evelyn sang that to me my first few nights here. I couldn't sleep, but I turned to the wall and listened. It was nice, knowing she was there." It was more than nice—it was the safest he'd ever felt in his entire life. Her fingers danced across his skinny back, moving away from the bruises on his body whenever he flinched, as if she just knew. Her voice was protective and soothing and beautiful all at once. "Sing it again."

Avery looked like she was going to say no—her eyes grew wide as she looked into Jack's and he was sure she was going to refuse—but then she looked down at her hands again and fell back into the song.

Jack swallowed as her voice washed over him in both a new and familiar way. He knew the words and the tune but the voice—the voice was younger, softer, prettier, and now it meant something different to him. The song faded out with Avery's voice until they were sitting in silence, staring at each other.

"Jack." She said in a clear voice, with no reference that she had anything else to say. And that was all that was needed to be said. She stood and held out her hand, offering to Jack more than just a hand. He looked up at her and took her hand without a moment's hesitation.

Avery awoke in the middle of the night to silence. She had not dreamt, had not heard a noise or felt a disturbance, but her eyes had snapped open as if something was wrong. She felt the weight of Jack's body on the bed beside her and the cool air on her left foot as it had slipped out from under the covers at some point in the night. She crawled to the end of the bed where she knew her jeans had been discarded on the floor and slipped her cell phone out of one of the pockets.

One new message.

"Ave, it's Chris. I'm back in town and I need to see you. Something's happened. Call me back when you get this."

Avery stared at the phone long after the message had ended and the annoying computerized voice started jangling. Her brother was back in town—not that she had known he had officially left town—and he was back in contact with her. Avery looked over at Jack and felt a shiver roll over her body because with Chris only came trouble, and Avery knew better than anyone that she did not handle trouble very well.


	11. What Happens Next

There was a soft clearing of the throat on the opposite side of the desk and Avery slowly lifted her eyes from her lap. Mr. Lipinski, the school therapist, was sitting back in his swivel chair behind his desk, looking steadily at her. Avery licked her lips and then swallowed hard, shifting uncomfortably in her seat as it creaked beneath her.

"Do you mind if I ask you a question, Avery?" He asked, breaking the ten-minute silence in the room.

Avery rolled her eyes to the wall to the left of her, studying the dumb painting hanging near her. "You just did," she mumbled lamely under her breath.

"i'm sorry?" Mr. Lipinski leaned forward, asking her to repeat herself.

Avery shook her head and then brought her gaze back to him. "Nothing; go ahead."

"Well, this is our third meeting, Avery, and I've been trying to give you your time and space to start feeling comfortable, but I think it's time that you explain to me why you're living with the Mercers." His voice is smooth and steady, but the way he was approaching the subject made him sound like a condescending teacher, and there was nothing Avery hated more than someone making her feel like she was in the wrong.

She lifted an eyebrow, crossing one leg over the other and sitting up straighter in her chair. She drew confidence from confrontation and loved putting someone in their place. "I overdosed on drugs," she said simply, making sure that she sounded nonchalant about it.

Mr. Lipinski nodded, glancing at the empty legal pad on his desk. Avery waited for him to move towards it and write something down, but he didn't. "Is that a decision you regret making?"

Avery didn't hesitate for a second before answering, "Absolutely not."

Mr. Lipinski's eyebrows twitched, as if they wanted to move upwards, but he managed to control his facial features, like the poorly-paid shrink he was. "Because it brought you to the home of the Mercers."

Avery stared into his eyes, a slow smile spreading across her lips. "Because it felt GOOD to take those pills."

Mr. Lipinski's brow pulls together and he tilts his head to the side. "Was it the first time you were able to escape, to feel no pain? Did it feel good to feel numb?"

"Yeah, actually, it did," Avery snapped, "I don't understand why everyone makes such a big deal out of it; some people are destined to have a shitty life, and if I'm one of those people, I'm okay with it. Just let me do what I need and want to do to deal with it. I have the right to kill in self defense, don't I? I was only defending myself."

"Against yourself." Mr. Lipinski finished and Avery sat back in her chair, feeling almost like she had been slapped across the face.

"No...that's not---it wasn't my fault." She stammered, feeling out of sorts. When had she lost the upper hand?

Mr. Lipinski twisted his mouth, chewing on the inside corner of his lips. "What wasn't your fault? Did someone make you take the pills, Avery?"

Avery's nose wrinkled in confusion. "No...but no one tried to stop me."

"Did you tell anyone? Avery, did you ASK for help?"

"WHY DO YOU KEEP SAYING MY NAME?" Avery demanded, standing up, her hands shaking by her side and a deep flush creeping up behind her ears.

Mr. Lipinski sat back in smug satisfaction, which Avery was pretty sure was inappropriate of a shrink, but she continued to stand fuming over his desk. "Actually," he chuckled and shook his head, "I'll give you a break; saying your name is supposed to make you feel comforted and secure. It's supposed to let your subconscious know that I am here for you, no matter what might come out of your mouth. It's also a good way to keep you in the moment and concentrated."

Avery's heartrate slowed down and she took a step back, feeling the backs of her knees hit against the seat of the chair. Slowly, she lowered herself into the chair and closed her eyes briefly, drawing in a deep breath. "I don't want to talk anymore." She said flatly when she had regained her composure.

When she opened her eyes again, a cold, creepy feeling came over her. Mr. Lipinski was looking at her with a distinguished disturbed look on his face. Then, he suddenly lunged for a pen and started writing on that stupid legal pad. Avery craned her neck to see what he was writing, but of course all the dumb trinkets on the outskirts of his desk guarded the paper.

Finally, Mr. Lipinski stopped scribbling, looked at his watch and stood up with a bright smile on his face. "You made good progress today, Avery; I look forward to seeing you next week." He opened the door to his office and Avery stepped carefully past him and into the hallway, glancing back just as he slammed the door, causing the frosted glass pane to shake in the wood.

The doorbell rang and for a good thirty seconds, no one moved off the couch. The second time the bell rang, Bobby looked with wide eyes at Jack and Avery, waiting for one of them to move. "The door won't answer itself, morons." He growled and Jack rolled his eyes, standing up off the couch and trudging to the door.

"Who are you?" Avery and Bobby heard him say in an annoyed voice.

"Is Avery here?" Avery sat up stick-straight, and just as Bobby was going to ask her what she was doing, she leapt off the couch and practically sprinted into the foyer.

"Chris," she whispered breathlessly, her heart pounding in her ears. Chris's scruffy face lit up in a familiar, little-boy smile and Avery lunged forward, throwing her arms around his neck. Jack stepped away from the door as Chris walked in, lifting Avery off her feet and bringing her with him. "Let's go to my room," Avery said when Chris let go of her, pulling hims towards the stairs and running up them. A moment later, as Jack closed the front door, Avery's bedroom door slammed shut and Jack wandered back into the living room.

"Competition, Jackie---how will you retaliate?" Bobby wiggled his eyebrows and Jack slid his hands into his pockets, resting a shoulder against the archway frame, staring at the television.

He shook his head and told his older brother to shut up. He didn't exactly feel threatened by this Chris guy because he wasn't EXACTLY interested in Avery. He did find himself wondering what this guy was doing showing up at his house, and what his past with Avery was like. For her sake, of course, because bringing in past boyfriends and all could cause a setback in her rehabilitation.

Jack's narrowed eyes studied his older brother carefully. He glanced at his hand of cards and then back at Jerry's confidently innocent face. Jack's eyes flicked to Bobby and then back at Jerry, and then back to his own cards. He drew in a deep breath, about to say the cards he was about to play, and then he saw the flicker of a smile tugging at the corner of Jerry's mouth.

His eyes widening, Jack yelled, "Bullshit!"

Jerry looked at Jack with his own widened eyes, starting to laugh. "What was that, little brother?"

"I said BULLSHIT, motherfucker!" Jack pointed a finger in Jerry's laughing face and Bobby and Angel erupted into their own laughter when Jerry scooped up the hefty pile of cards in the center of the table.

"I ALMOST had you," Jerry chuckled, shaking his head.

"Yeah, yea--almost." Jack smiled at his hand.

Bobby reached across the table and gave Jack a sharp punch on his shoulder. "Ow, what was that for?" Jack yelped, sounding a little more like a girl than he would have liked to.

Bobby fell back into his chair, stretching his legs out again and saying, "motherfucker, Jackie? You really want to disrespect Ma like that? Not in this house." He reprimanded, but he was smirking as he said it.

Jack was just about to play his cards when there was a loud crash above them, causing all four brothers to lift their eyes to the ceiling. "You lying sack of shit!" Avery's high-pitched voice screamed, followed by another loud disturbance.

"You've got to be shitting me--does she ever stop yelling?" Bobby grumbled, throwing his cards on the table and stomping to the stairs. "AVERY!"

"Get the hell out of here right now! Fuck you, Chris!" Bobby watched as Avery shoved Chris towards the stairs, and he caught himself on the banister before she pushed him down the stairs.

"Avery, you can't hide forever. This isn't where you belong." Chris said levelly, stepping back onto the landing upstairs. Bobby winced when he heard the sharp crack of skin against skin when Avery slapped Chris across the face with all the anger and force in her body.

"Don't you dare talk to me like that. YOU were the one who left--you left me all alone, with NO ONE. Do you have any idea what it's been like, Chris? He won't LOOK at me because I resemble her too much. You're a fucking asshole--don't act like I'm the one who did something wrong. YOU left." Avery shoved past him, practically falling down the stairs she moved so fast. "Move, Bobby," she grunted, pushing past him as well and storming through the front door. Bobby moved to the opened door as it swung on its hinges, watching Avery run down the street, her dark hair flying behind her.

When he turned around, Chris was at the bottom of the stairs and Angel was standing at the doorway to the kitchen, with Jerry and Jack behind him at the table, leaning over to see what was going on. "Want to explain yourself, FRIEND?" Bobby smirked, stepping closer to the guy.

Chris's eyes flashed and his jaw set. "It's not really any of your business." He tried to step past Bobby, but he put his hand out, causing the smaller guy to stop.

"Actually, it is; this is my house."

"And that's MY sister that you're keeping held captive here." Chris growled, his eyes narrowing. "you know NOTHING about her---this isn't healthy for her. It may seem like she's doing better for now, but Avery isn't that good. She won't change." On that note, Chris moved around Bobby, who didn't try to stop him this time.

Slowly, Bobby walked back to the kitchen, letting out a breath. "Well," he said, his eyes sliding to Jack. "I guess you don't want to worry about competition--unless they're into incest, or something."

It wasn't until later that night, around midnight or even later, that Avery returned to the house. Evelyn and Bobby were waiting up, sitting on the couch and watching a movie---one that Evelyn had chosen, much to Bobby's silent chagrin. When they heard the door open, Bobby leapt off the couch and stormed into the foyer, fixing Avery with a cold, assusatory stare. "Where have you been?" He demanded.

Avery's eyes narrowed in self-defense. "Excuse me? I was OUT." Her eyes flicked to Evelyn as she entered the foyer and then she hugged her arms around herself, trying to warm up from being in the cold without a jacket. "Sorry," she mumbled, refusing to look at Bobby.

"Sweetheart, why didn't you call one of us?" Evelyn asked softly, stepping forward. Just as she was about to reach a warm hand to Avery's pink cheeks, whipped from the cold wind, Bobby grabbed Avery's jaw between his strong fingers and turned her face towards him.

"Bobby!" Evelyn snapped in surprise as Bobby yanked Avery forward harshly.

Avery pushed against him but Bobby examined her eyes carefully, hardly budging as she hit him. Finally, he let go, practically flinging her away from him, and then turned and started up the stairs. "Night, Ma," he called over his shoulder.

Evelyn looked uncertainly at Avery, who rubbed at her sore jaw. "He was just---"

"Just making sure I hadn't been doing drugs," Avery finished flatly. Her eyes slid over to Evelyn and she just shook her head, "I just wanted to clear my head--i sat at the park for a while, that's all. I didn't know I was under house arrest."

Avery had just laid down in bed, flopping onto her back to stare at the ceiling, when her door opened and shut. She heard Jack cross the room and moved over on the bed to make room for him. Jack sat down on the bed and Avery lifted herself up, raising a hand to touch the side of his face. She kissed him softly and then pulled him down on the bed with her. Jack kissed Avery back for as long as he would allow himself, and then, as she started inching his shirt up his back, Jack pulled away and took hold of Avery's wrists gently. "I'm sorry for what your brother did," he said seriously, moving Avery so that her back was against his chest slightly. Avery didn't say anything back to him because she was too confused; no guy had ever wanted to just HOLD her. She wasn't even sure how to spoon, exactly, and she stayed stiff and rigid until she felt Jack relax into a deep sleep. It wasn't until then that she could let herself mold against him, letting her heartbeat fall into tandem with his. It was nice, Avery realized, to lay against someone and feel his arms around you, to know that he was there for you even in his most vulnerable moment.

A week later, Bobby, Avery and Jack were watching a movie on a late night. A popcorn bowl had been passed around the three of them until it was empty and they were all relaxing in their positions, content to be lazy and just watch the television. Avery was sprawled out on the floor, laying on her stomach, with her arms crossed over a pillow to support her head.

A crude joke was made in the movie and Avery laughed loudly, her back shaking with the motion. Bobby stared at her in shock and slowly his eyes moved to Jack, who was smiling slightly to himself, still staring at the television screen. The joke had passed, but Avery still chuckled to herself on the floor, clearly tickled by the joke, and Bobby felt a strange feeling come over him. He wasn't sure he had heard a more honest sound come from Avery's mouth throughout the weeks they had known each other. And without warning, a smile stretched across his lips as he settled back against the couch cushions, stretching his legs out in front of him on the carpeted floor.


	12. What Goes Around Comes Aroundagain

"So I'll meet you back here at five?" Avery turned to Jack with wide eyes, as if she was afraid that he would say no and not show up.

They were at the school, class had been out for over an hour, but Avery's weekly therapy session had been scheduled for four that day.

Now Jack nodded, reaching up a hand and sliding a lock of hair behind Avery's ear without meaning to. That had been happening a lot lately; one of them would subtly touch the other in a tender, familiar way. Since the night that Jack had made Avery sleep with him without sleeping with him, neither of them had tried to go there again. Jack wouldn't admit it aloud, but he knew that they were trying to get to know each other for real this time. They had started off moving backwards and somewhere they each got a little confused, so now they were slowing down and backtracking. Jack didn't even know if he wanted to actually date Avery, and he certainly couldn't see it happening any time soon, but there was something there between them that was more than just a sexual attraction.

Maybe it was that Jack recognized himself so much in her and maybe he was feeling protective of that side of him. But Jack had noticed a change in Avery in the past couple of weeks; her skin was brighter and her eyes glinted with happiness, even when she wasn't smiling. Which she was doing a lot of lately--smiling, that is. She was smiling the way any normal teenage girl would; giggling and laughing at the dumbest, silliest things.

Now, the corners of Avery's mouth turned up slightly and her eyes softened. "Bye, Jack."

* * *

"Avery, your dad's here." Bobby knocked on Jerry's bedroom door--he still refused to call it Avery's room--and then knocked again when she didn't answer. With a roll of his eyes Bobby warned, "you better be decent---I'd rather not be even more scarred for life than I already am," and then pushed the door open to an empty room. The curtains at the window blew in the crisp breeze flowing through the wide open window and Bobby let out a grunted curse and then stormed down the stairs.

Evelyn and Julien looked up from their coffee cups when Bobby stomped into the room and snatched the car keys from the counter. "What's wrong?" Evelyn asked immediately, sensing his urgency. Jack stood up from his position of leaning against the wall, uncrossing his arms as he took a step forward.

"You, sit," Bobby instructed, pointing a stiff finger at his little brother, whose eyes widened in protest. "I'll be back---with Avery." Bobby was out the front door and striding towards the car by the time Jack caught up with him.

"I'm coming with you," Jack said in a way that he hoped would give Bobby no room to argue, but it _was_ Bobby Mercer, after all---he always argued.

"Get back in the house, Jackie--I'll find her." Bobby growled, sick of Avery's shit and all the trouble she caused.

Jack's eyes flashed, "Come on, Bobby--she's probably at Lee's; I'll know where to find her." He tried to move around the car to the passenger side but Bobby gave him a hard enough shove on his chest to send him back a few paces.

"You're not coming, Jack--you can't beat me and we both know that. Get back in the house." Bobby slid into the car and started it, backing out of the driveway quickly so that the tires squealed when he turned around on the street. Jack watched from the driveway, confused as to why Bobby was so vehement about him not coming and angry that Avery had run away again.

* * *

It wasn't difficult to find Avery---she was at the park like she was the last time she had run away, not that Bobby had necessarily believed her that time, but he took his hunch and went with it. He strolled across the foggy park, very much aware at how creepy it was that Avery was sitting in a near-dark park by herself, surrounded by milky fog.

"If it isn't Hurricane Avery herself," he smirked when he got close enough for her to hear him. She didn't turn around, though, and by the time Bobby rounded to the bench to face the girl, she was wiping her hands across her wet cheeks. Bobby froze--what was he supposed to do with a crying girl?---but then he sat down slowly on the opposite end of the bench, as far as he could get without it being too apparent that he was uncomfortable.

"That's not one I've heard before," Avery said with a wry smile, looking down at her shaking hands.

Bobby leaned forward so his elbows rested on his knees and swung his head around to look at her. "It was just a...joke," he shrugged.

"No it wasn't," Avery looked at Bobby in surprise, her face already clearing up from it's blotchiness, as if it were just that easy for her to hide away her feelings.

Moving a bit closer on the bench, Bobby turned towards Avery and said, "What were you fighting with your brother about?"

A blush crept across Avery's cheeks and she turned towards the pond, squinting through the fog to no avail. "I don't...why are you bringing this up now?"

"Well, I figure it has something to do with your dad,"

"Well," Avery said, and for a moment, Bobby thought she was just going to mimick him or make some sort of smart-ass remark. But instead, she surprised him by telling him the truth, "Chris left a few months ago. He's been a troublemaker all his life, taking for granted the money and power our family had in a way that I never did." She glanced at Bobby, as if she expected him to retort, but he bit his tongue and waited for her to continue. "He and my dad were always butting heads--I honestly can't say if either of them loved the other, but Chris and my mom were really close. Then my parents started fighting and Chris started disappearing for weeks at a time, but he always came back. When my mom left, so did Chris...a few weeks later, at least. At first I convinced myself that he had gone to live with her, but then I started noticing that things from our house were going missing. Vases, small paintings and even a rug in one of the rooms upstairs. He was selling them because our dad cut him off----naturally. Dad didn't notice because he doesn't notice anything, but I at least had hope that he would come get me sometime."

There was such a long silence that Bobby was about to suggest they go back to the house; he wanted to know Avery's story, but he wasn't the type to press into people's personal lives. Bobby knew better than most what it was like to search your darkest corners, and how difficult it was to face them. Then Avery spoke again with a surprisingly strong and steady voice.

"So I started fucking up as well--it's not easy being left, forgotten and ignored every day. Things happened and I just fell away from the person I used to be. But then I came here and, I don't know, things started to change back. But the other day I realized that I'll never be the person that I was, and I think that's what made me be so bad for so long. I hated myself for being the way I was and being too weak to change back, but it's impossible. Too much has happened... so I accepted that and then Chris showed up again. Here, of all places; in _your_ house and that was just too weird for me. I was happy to see him until I realized his game. Chris thinks I belong somewhere---like I belong with my dad in a big, empty house and in my expensive school where I don't learn anything useful at all."

"Is he just looking out for you?" Bobby asked, knowing how lame he sounded.

Avery gave him a look to show that she, too, found him lacking. "No, what he wants is me to stop thinking I belong anywhere else; like I'm too good to be here. He also wants me to be on my dad's good graces because then he can get what he wants when he wants it. I don't know why I thought it would be any different than it ever has been; Chris has manipulated me my entire life...I just thought that for once he would put me before himself."

Her words would have made Bobby think that she was about to cry again, but her voice did not waver one bit and once again Bobby was amazed at how strong she managed to stay. Then he realized that maybe she wasn't necessarily strong; maybe she was just so used to extracting herself from her feelings. And that wasn't impressive at all; it was just sad.

But Bobby did his best to make Avery feel better, even though he completely agreed with everything she said and if he had been in the same situation, there wouldn't have been a single thing anyone could say to make him see it in a different way. While they were driving back to the house, Bobby took his chance, figuring it was the first opening he had seen so far and he had nothing to lose.

"Back in the park you were saying that there was a lot you had done that changed you. I was just wondering...you know, what are those things?" He glanced over, one hand resting on top of the steering wheel.

Avery pressed her lips together and shook her head. "I don't....I don't talk about that. I don't _want_ to talk about that." She said quietly, without hesitating to even think it over.

And that was that; Bobby recognized the tone of voice Avery was using and he knew he would not get a lick of information out of her. At least not that night.

* * *

After Avery entered the house and took a seat at the kitchen table, across from her father and next to a supportive Evelyn, Bobby went upstairs, pulling Jack by the collar of his shirt. Once upstairs, Jack followed Bobby into his older brother's room, watching as Bobby flopped down on the bed and picked up a sports magazine. "Well?" Jack asked finally, impatient and frustrated with Bobby.

"Well what?" Bobby asked shortly, flipping a glossy page of the magazine.

Jack walked farther into the room, picking up a signed hockey puck on one of Bobby's shelves and putting it back down. "Well...I mean, what did she _say_ to you?" He demanded, throwing his hands in the air. "You were gone for a while and now she's...I don't know, different."

Barely glancing up from the article he was reading, Bobby shrugged his shoulders. "She didn't say anything, really."

"You're lying." Jack said pointedly and Bobby sighed loudly, snapping the magazine shut and tossing it on the floor near Jack's feet. Bobby swung his legs over the side of the bed and then stood up, raising his eyebrows at Jack.

"She wasn't lying about having issues. Let's just leave it at that, okay?" It's not really posed as a question, more as a warning. Jack, however, isn't having any of it. Bobby may be his older brother, his superior in both strength and power, but Jack was a Mercer, too. He stepped forward, shoving Bobby back as he tried to walk around Jack.

Bobby's eyes flash and a muscle jumps in his jaw as he steadies himself. "You don't want to do that, Jack."

"Maybe I do; you haven't done a damn thing for that girl all the time she's been here. You haven't helped her when she's falling over herself, puking everywhere. You haven't sat on the other side of the wall from her, listening to her cry herself to sleep. You haven't even been remotely nice to her! Why should you get to hear what she has to say now? You should have let me come with you before, Bobby and you know it." Jack pulled himself up to his full height, which is a considerable amount taller than Bobby, just to prove that he was not only not afraid of his older brother, but also that he could handle himself if Bobby wanted to go at it.

Bobby took a step forward, crossing his thick arms over his chest and raising his eyebrows. "And yet, all this time, she has not opened up to you. And, after ALL THIS TIME, she told me not to tell you what she told me. Avery doesn't need someone to hold her and be NICE to her, Jackie; she needs someone to tell her the truth. Something YOU were never very good at."

Jack was overcome with rage at this point. Not necessarily because of the situation, but because of the memories that came with it. His mom, high on heroine and wearing only a tank top and underwear, stubbing out her cigarette on his neck because he forgot to put the milk back in the refrigerator at age five. Her boyfriend, knocking him up against a wall and squeezing his hand around Jack's small neck because he accidently spilled on the carpet and was taking too long cleaning up. His entire childhood, everyone telling him he wasn't good enough, smart enough, strong enough. And now, his older brother, _Bobby_, the one person Jack looked up to more than anybody, loved more than anybody, was telling him he wasn't good enough to help Avery. Even if he had wanted to hold himself back, Jack wouldn't have been able to. He launched himself at his brother, swinging his right arm and hitting Bobby square in the jaw, just the way his older brothers had taught him to, sending Bobby flying across the room and crashing into the small table beside his bed.

"Fuck you," Bobby growled, rubbing at his jaw for a mere moment before coming for Jack. He sent Jack against the bookcase, knocking the hockey puck and several books and trinkets to the floor in a clatter. Jack pushed Bobby off with a strength Bobby had never seen in his little brother before.

"What...?" Evelyn looked up at the ceiling after a few crashes, and then after one more, much louder--as in something definitely broke--she jumped to her feet and ran to the stairs. Avery looked over her shoulder after Evelyn, then looked back at her father, who was already typing away at his Blackberry, and then stood up and followed Evelyn to the stairs. Avery didn't get to make it up the stairs, however, because just as she reached the foot, Jack and Bobby came crashing down it in a tangle of limbs and fists, narrowly missing her as she stepped aside quickly. Evelyn, who had already made up the stairs by that point, came stopping down, her face set in anger but her eyes overtaken with a fear that always came when her sons fought.

"Bobby! Get your ass up right now!" Evelyn shouted, but there was no need, Because Jack and Bobby _were_ standing again, only so that Jack could shove Bobby through the front door with such strength that they both hit the ground with a thud.

"Oh my God." Avery mumbled to herself, walking towards the open front door, standing on the steps as the boys continue to fight in the yard.

"Stop!" Evelyn screamed, running into the yard and walking close to the boys even as they roll around, each getting the upper hand for a moment before it was turned over to the other. "Stop right now! Jack! Bobby! BOYS!!"

Finally, Jack, who was on top of Bobby, punching him several times in the face, stopped and stood up, breathing hard. He backed away from Bobby, bleeding from the lip, eyebrow and cheekbone, where a bruise was already forming. Bobby got to his feet in case Jack was just winding up for another swing, and then took a step forward. "Fuck me, Bobby? No--fuck YOU." He said quietly, spitting blood into the grass before he turned and started walking down the sidewalk.

Evelyn started going after Jack, shooting Bobby a look--because it was ALWAYS Bobby's fault--but he held out a hand, stopping her. "Not now, Ma." He said, breathing hard and turning towards the house. He brushed past Avery without even glancing at her and then went straight up to his room, closing the door quietly behind him. Whatever the fight had been about, it didn't matter anymore, because Bobby was the only one who could see that Jack had tears streaming down his cheeks when he walked away.

* * *

Avery, speechless, turned back to walk into the house and came face to face with her father. "Honey, I have to go; I have a meeting. I thought we would...I mean, I just thought we had more time earlier." He said uncomfortable, glancing at his watch.

Avery nodded, not wanting to get into it after the day she'd had. "It's okay, Dad; you can go." She said after swallowing hard, looking up the stairs where Bobby had retreated.

* * *

Something changed over the next few weeks; Bobby and Jack were walking on thin ice around each other. Bobby had even made the effort to talk to Jack like they used to, but Jack just mumbled curtly under his breath and walked away without a second glance. Jack had also pulled away from Avery, who was holding on tight. But there came a point in every girl's life when she couldn't be desperate, and Avery decided that was what she was, at least when it came to Jack. So she let him go, and subsequently, she latched onto something else.

"Avery!" Kailey squealed when Avery walked into the house that was holding the party. It was Avery's first time back in her old neighborhood since that day she had skipped out on school, and her life. Avery let her old best friend pull her into a hug, even going as far as to wrap her own arms around Kailey's small waist. "Jesus, welcome back! How's rehab been? Do you get your own room and breakfast in bed and everything? That's what my mom's sister had; of course we had to pay for it, but she was clean for six months before she returned to the drugs. Impressive, if you ask me." Kailey winked and smiled, grabbing Avery's hand and pulling her into a small room where people were playing quarters, not even bothering to hear Avery's answer.

"I'm not in rehab, Kailey; I'm just staying with some...friends...." She trailed off, realizing that Kailey wasn't listening, and then sat down on the edge of a couch. She hadn't come to drink or smoke or anything else, but that was before someone handed her a beer. And then, like second nature, Avery took the cold beer can and cracked it open, picking up a corner and bouncing it effortlessly into an empty cup. The cups were passed around the table, each person going as fast as they could so they could make the person next to them drink.

It wasn't until much later, when Avery was in the kitchen and looked over to see Natalie walking into the room, that Avery realized she was drunk. The smile that had been on her lips faded when she saw the way Natalie was looking at her, and then at the beer in her hand.

"Avery....Avery! Come on, your shot's waiting." Avery turned to the sound of her voice, smiling at the boy who had challenged her to down three shots of tequila faster than he could. Avery, who had always been up for playing drinking games, had accepted immediately. Now she turned away from her friend and picked up the first shot glass, clinking it against her partner's and sloshing alcohol over her fingers before tilting her head back and tossing the contents down her throat easily.

"So you really are as good as they say." The guy was laughing between sips of beer to get rid of the taste of tequila from his mouth. Avery sucked on a slice of lime someone had handed her and pulled it away from her mouth to smile at him. "How good are YOU?" She asked in a low voice, stepping so close that they were almost touching.

Natalie watched Avery go up the stairs with the boy from Natalie's math class, stopping halfway up as he pushed Avery against the wall, kissing her hard on the mouth. Natalie knew there was no stopping them; she had tried too many times before to know that. So she waited a while and then ventured up the stairs and opened the doors one by one, walking in on several couples before she found the one she was looking for. Avery was rolling off the bed at this moment, crawling around on the floor in search for the rest of her clothes.

Natalie walked in, picking her friend's jeans off the floor and handing them to her. Avery looked up when she saw her jeans floating midair, and slowly stood up, taking them out of Natalie's outstretched hand. Avery's eyes were glazed over, her cheeks were flushed, she had a hickey on her neck , collarbone and several more dotted down her chest and stomach and she swayed on her feet. This was the Avery that Natalie knew best, and she wished she would go away for good.

"Avery!" Natalie turned first, with Avery slowly following as they stopped walking. They were walking down the front walk, Avery's weight being mostly supported by Natalie, so they were moving slowly.

"Shit," Natalie muttered under her breath. John would have been a piece of cake compared to this guy; Dean Matthews was not a good guy. He was the guy that Avery had cheated on John with. He was the guy that had hit her, whether or not Avery would ever admit it. Natalie knew that Avery didn't really like Dean, but when they started hooking up, Avery was desperate for attention of any kind. Dean was possessive and intense and gave her too _much_ attention, getting mad whenever she would talk to another guy, or even if she missed one of his calls. Now he walked up to them, not an angry look on his face, but the ever-present intense one, his eyes only on Avery.

"Where have you been? You haven't answered any of my calls or...what have you been doing?" Dean demanded, reaching out a hand to lift Avery's drooping chin so that she was looking at him.

Avery stiffened beside Natalie at Dean's touch. "I've been...out of town." She said slowly, trying to pick her words carefully.

Now Dean looked at Natalie, who was glaring at him with a hatred she didn't even know she had. "Look, Nat, can you give me and Avery a minute?" He asked impatiently.

"My name is--"

"Yeah, let's just go inside." Avery grabbed Dean's hand and started pulling him towards the house, leaving Natalie helplessly on the curb.

"Avery, I don't think...." But it was pointless; Avery was already gone, being sucked back into the loud noise of the party. Too many times Natalie had let Avery go, knowing full well that when she returned, she would have a bruise somewhere on her fragile body. This time, though, was different.

"Hey...I thought I was meeting you at the car?" Lucas Brenner paused in the foyer when he saw Natalie on her toes, looking around the room.

"Good! I was just looking for you." Natalie smiled in relief, grabbing his hand. "Avery is with Dean and we need to find them."

"Shit...again?" Lucas pulled a hand through his hair, understanding how serious the situation truly was. "Alright, well the bedrooms upstairs are probably taken but I'll look in the laundry room and the basement?" He looked to Natalie for approval and she nodded, following after him.

And they did find them--in the storage room of the basement, where Avery was sitting on a tall bench, her legs spread so Dean could position himself between them. Her hands were on either side of her face and she was speaking quietly and steadily. Natalie stopped in the doorway, tears reaching her eyes because she understood what Avery was doing. All the times that Avery had been drunk, angry beyond control or crying hysterically, Natalie had sat with her, in their bedrooms, in the backseat of cars or anywhere else; holding onto her face so that she had to focus her attention, calming her best friend down. The trick was to keep your voice soft but firm so that you were soothing and demanding at the same time. Avery was doing it now, just as Natalie had done it so many times before, to calm Dean down and this could only mean one thing.

"Hey, man, we gotta take Avery home." Lucas stepped forward, all six foot two of him eating Dean by several inches.

Dean looked over his shoulder, and he would have fought if Natalie hadn't brought help. He would have told her to go away and leave him and Avery alone. But with Lucas there, it was one more witness, and also someone who could and would throw a mean punch. Dean stepped away from Avery, who slid off the bench and stumbled forward. "Come on," Natalie said gently, buttoning Avery's pants for her and smoothing her shirt down over her stomach. The girls left, heading back upstairs to the car, and Lucas stepped towards Dean.

* * *

At the sound of someone knocking on the door, Jack walked from the kitchen, where he was eating a bowl of cereal, and opened the front door. "She's probably going to throw up in the next ten or fifteen minutes," Natalie said, catching herself on the door frame as Avery leaned all of her weight on her friend. Jack stepped forward and Natalie passed Avery off to him wordlessly.

Just as Natalie turned to go, Jack shifted Avery so her could support her weight easily. "Thank you," he said and Natalie stopped, turned and smiled at him. Nodding. There was a sort of unspoken contract between them; Natalie used to be responsible for Avery, but somewhere along the line, that responsibility switched to the Mercers--Jack, more than anyone else. Natalie realized that night that she couldn't do it anymore--she WOULD, if necessary--but it wasn't her place anymore. Avery was in a different world now, she didn't belong in that house that night, she was just visiting.

Jack kicked the door closed and helped Avery up the stairs, grateful that Evelyn was on a weekend work trip to take a kid to his new foster home a couple of hours away, because he knew she shouldn't see Avery like this. Again. The minute they reached the top of the stairs, Avery moaned and Jack whisked her quickly into the bathroom, reaching the toilet just in time. He held her hair back and her head straight so she couldn't decide last minute to turn her head and spew vomit all over the place. She was trying to speak to him, slurring her words and tripping over the easiest of phrases, but Jack just shushed, her, smoothing her hair back once again as she heaved over the toilet.

"I want a shower," she whined, her eyes half closed, leaning back as Jack supported her. He figured it was probably good idea, since she had dribbled vomit on her shirt and smelled awful. So he gently lowered Avery back against the tub, reaching to pull her shirt off. Dropping it to the floor, he stared down at her, running a hand through his hair. A bruise, blue in the center mixed with black and a raw red around the outline, had rose up on her shoulder, reaching down on her chest a bit. Small dots of bruises were formed on the edges of her jaw, something Jack hadn't noticed before because she was facing away from him. This time, he was the one who wanted to throw up.

"Jack," Avery opened her eyes then, lifting them to his face and Jack swallowed hard. She looked so young, so lonely and desperate.

"Alright," he hoisted her up again, lifting her over the edge of the tub and into the shower, stepping in behind her in his boxers and white t-shirt. Avery swayed on her feet, with Jack holding onto her waist to keep her relatively steady. Facing away from Jack and towards the flow of water, Avery leaned back against his chest and this time she supported most of her weight, so that it was only slight pressure on him. In other circumstances, it would seem like they were lovers sharing a shower together; with the girl leaning back against the boy in a sign of affection. Jack smoothed back Avery's hair as it began to cover her face, and held her until her head started to bob in exhaustion.

After he had laid her down in Jerry's bed, sliding an oversized t-shirt over her and slipping off her wet clothes, Jack stood back and took a long, hard look at her. He knew this was partly his fault; he had pulled away from Avery just when she was starting to do well, just when she was starting to trust him. But that was what Jack was good at. He hadn't been able to face her after his fight with Bobby--how could he? Bobby had been right; Jack shouldn't have let Avery avoid the subject so much and he shouldn't have let her so easily get away with everything. She needed structure, but more than that she needed balance. And Jack had ripped out the balance from beneath her, leaving her on scary, shaky ground all by herself.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to Jack and he went into his room, fishing around in his desk until he found what he was looking for. He inched down the covers and pulled her shirt down so it revealed the bruise, turning her head to the other side gently so that the darkest bruise on her face could be seen, too. Then he lifted an old disposable camera to his face and snapped a couple of pictures. He would give the pictures to Emily, even if he didn't necessarily believe in what she was doing, because maybe Avery needed to see herself through everyone else's eyes.


	13. The Aftermath

Hello! It's been an incredibly long time since I've updated and I feel horrible but hopefully I still have some people who are interested in reading!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything!

* * *

Since that night, Avery had seemed to fold into herself. Jack was certain she didn't remember at least half of the night, but perhaps not knowing was worse than the truth. She had to know at least that Jack had come to her rescue once again. Maybe she was embarrassed, or angry, or even sad but it seemed to Jack that maybe Avery had finally given up.

For once, after one of her relapses, she hadn't mouthed off or acted out and escaped into the world of drugs and alcohol. She hadn't tried to make new mistakes to erase the old ones. This time, Avery had just gone almost silent, only speaking when someone asked her a direct question. She spent most of her time in her room or outside, wandering around aimlessly.

In school, Avery went to class and did her work and spent her free time during school hours in the library. One time, Jack had wandered through the library-in search for her, although if she had seen him he would have made up another excuse-and as he was walking past a small study nook that was quiet and secluded, he saw her curled up in one of the chairs, fast asleep.

Avery definitely slept a _lot_.

Evelyn seemed to think that she was recovering but just wanted to do it in the privacy of her own head. Jack could understand that-there were certainly a lot of scary thoughts that had bounced around his own mind when he was in her situation. But Jack thought it might be something else. Animals, when they were sick or dying, would crawl into the deep trenches of the woods, find a quiet spot, and die alone.

He only hoped someone could reach her before it came to that.

Meanwhile, Jack and Bobby were still not talking. They hadn't spoken since their fight, and with Angel gone again and Avery sulking around the house and disappearing into her room for hours at a time, the house was very quiet. The tension was thick and everyone noticed. Jerry came around every once in a while to try to knock some sense into them-literally-but both of the brothers refused to give in. Jerry couldn't be around enough to mediate and he had his own family to focus on.

Even Evelyn, who had been spending a lot of time out of town lately, was fed up with the silent treatment the brothers were giving each other. One night, after spending the entire afternoon in a silence only punctuating by the occasional grunt when she asked someone a direct question, ordered everyone to the table for dinner. Avery sat down immediately but Bobby and Jack eyed the plates filled with food in the middle of the table warily. It was the first time the three of them had all been in the same room since the fight. None of them had even spoken since that night and here Evelyn was, forcing communication and contact.

"We are going to sit down at this table," Evelyn said, curling her fingers around the back of her chair and staring at each of the children individually. "Eat our dinner, and engage in conversation like a normal family."

No one said anything for a moment, most likely because they were too scared to defy Evelyn when she had that look on her face. But then Bobby shook his head and said, "Ma, this is crazy; let's just eat on our own like we've been doing for weeks. No need to cause a fight."

Evelyn's jaw clenched and her eyes narrowed in a way that made Avery sink down in her chair even though the glare wasn't towards her. "You listen to me, Bobby Mercer. We are going to have a family dinner and polite conversation whether you like it or not. You may be the oldest boy in this house, but I am still the head of the household and you _will _respect me and my rules."

Silence. Bobby stared at Evelyn for a few dragged out beats, and then he swallowed, pulled out his chair, and sat down. As Bobby shook out his napkin and placed it in his lap, Jack and Evelyn each took their seats as well.

"Now," Evelyn sighed happily, smiling around the table, "we'll go around the table and each of us will say something interesting that happened to them today. It could be good, bad, weird or simply influential. I'll go first." She loaded a chicken breast on her plate and picked up her utensils. "I took a little girl out of a physically and sexually abusive household, and on the ride to the center, she wouldn't stop talking about her doll and how much she loved her. She had the most beautiful smile." Evelyn's smile grew wider, more sincere, and Avery felt herself blush for no apparent reason.

Then Evelyn turned to Avery, tilting her head to the side. "What about you, Avery?"

Not used to talking very much lately, Avery cleared her throat and stared down at her plate. "Um...this girl called me a skank in the hallway because I gave her boyfriend back the pencil that he let me borrow." She said quietly, cutting her meat into tiny little pieces. It seemed almost methodical the way she was cutting, sending the knife back and forth and then again before removing her fork from the meat and sliding it back into the larger piece of meat to begin again.

Jack stared at Avery's plate, his own utensils poised motionless over his plate, his mouth hanging open slightly. It was the most he'd heard he talk in weeks.

"Girls and their territory." Evelyn clucked. "No wonder we're called Catty; most girls hiss at the first sign of an intruder." She chuckled softly, mostly to herself, and then lifted her eyes to Bobby expectantly.

Bobby raised his eyebrows, sitting back in his chair as he chewed his food with his mouth open. "Well, uh, I got a job at a bar, so I can move out soon and all."

When no one responded and after seeing that Evelyn's lips were pursed, which was never a good sign, Jack spoke up. "I walked in on one of my teachers making out with a student. So...I guess that was pretty interesting." He shrugged, wiping his mouth with his napkin.

"That's just disgusting." Evelyn made a face down at her pasta. The rest of the dinner went by smoothly, if not talking at all meant smooth. When they finished eating, everyone cleared and rinsed their own plates, helped with the dishes and then disappeared in separate rooms of the house to spend the rest of the night by themselves.

This was how it went for a while in the Mercer household. There was no yelling or fighting or lying for the longest time in the history of their family. That was what made the Mercers the infamous Mercers, though. They were badasses, they were tough and sometimes a lot of fun but they weren't complacent or quiet.

* * *

Luckily, the quiet and all the jumbled, confused thoughts in Jack's head gave him inspiration to work on his music. He wrote a few lines that he started working on to make a full song but it was harder for him to play his guitar when the house was so quiet because he was used to working through noise and he hated the thought that everyone would be listening, so he took to playing when no one was around. Sometimes he took it to Drew or Emily's houses and practiced while they worked on their different projects: Emily on her art and Drew on his video games and college applications.

Emily's piece was really coming together. It made Jack cringe to see the pictures of Avery at her worst, although he could also argue that she was at her worst right now, too. Some of the pictures were taken at angles to really show her emaciated figure, gaunt and hollow in too many areas. Some were in color to show how little natural color she had, and some were in black in white. There was one that seemed to take the center of the piece, at least how it was set up for now. It was a close-up of Avery's eyes, in color-maybe enhanced color, because they seemed more brilliant than ever.

"How did you get this?" Jack asked. It was the third time he had seen the piece, but the question had been itching in his mouth since the first.

Emily glanced up from a photo she was playing with on her fancy computer. "Oh...um, one day at your house, I think." She said, distracted as she searched through a pile of pictures she had splayed across a work table in her room. Emily's room was a mess of pictures, artwork, glue, scissors, discarded projects and projects in progress. It was in complete disorder but seemed to work together perfectly, especially for her. "Here's the original."

Jack took the photo from Emily's outstretched hand and saw that Avery was on the foot of his bed. He could tell from the crack in the wall by her left ear. She was laughing and she looked as healthy as he had ever seen her. It must have been when they were at their best, for about two seconds. Looking closely, Jack saw that the picture hadn't been enhanced at all-Avery's eyes were that color because she was laughing; because she was happy.

After getting Emily's permission, Jack pocketed the picture.

That night, after dinner and clearing the table, Jack found that he was alone in the kitchen with Avery. In the very few times they had been alone since that one night, neither of them had really acknowledged the other. After seeing that picture, though, Jack berated himself for acting like such an asshole. He was acting like he was angry with her when she was only reacting to his cold treatment.

Maybe they could patch things up after all, and be friends, at least.

So with a deep breath, Jack walked to the counter where Avery was meticulously drying the pan the lasagna had been baked in. "Need help?" He offered and Avery turned her head very slightly at the sound of his voice.

"Okay," it was the most she'd spoken to him since that night and now she moved slightly to the side so that he could keep cleaning the dishes left in the sink. They worked like that for a few minutes and then when everything was put away, she left the kitchen and retreated to her room without a word.

At least she hadn't recoiled at his presence.

This continued for a few nights and then for a couple of weeks and slowly, Avery started to open up just a little. First, she started to meet his eye for the first time in a while. Then she would say a word or two or a short sentence as they were doing the dishes. Something like: "the weather's been nice lately," or, "I have a big test in English tomorrow." Nothing significant or personal, but it still mattered.

There was one night, though, that Jack wanted to be the one to speak first. He didn't want to talk about the weather or school but he wanted to keep it simple so she didn't get spooked.

So he went with the simplest, yet the most open thing he could think of. "If you want to talk, Avery...I'm here. I know I haven't been in the past but I am now." It wasn't pretty or most likely even grammatically correct, but it was the truth. He wanted her to know that she could come to him, even if she never did.

* * *

Less than a week later, there was a soft knock on the door. Jack thought for a moment-no, Ma wasn't home-and then called out for the person to come in without stubbing out his joint. He was surprised (more than surprised-shocked) to see Avery standing in his doorway. Unlike what he was used to, she didn't have a look of anger or defiance on her face. She looked...well, sad. Sad, tired, and most of all, hungry. She should be eating more, as always.

"Um...I want...I want you to tell me what happened to you." She swallowed hard, made visible by her small adam's apple bobbing in her throat, and scratched at the back of her neck uncomfortably. "What happened to you before you came here..._why_ you came here."

Jack shifted on the edge of his bed, licking his lips before touching them to his joint to take in another drag. "Okay, well...," he paused to take a coughing break and then, rubbing at his left eye, he said, "it's a really long story. More or less my mom neglected me. Really neglected me, ever since I was a little kid. She was an alcoholic and a drug addict; I don't remember everything, but I remember always seeing rubber bands and syringes lying around. Needles longer than I could ever have imagined." He handed the joint to Avery, settling back against his pillows and moving his legs to the side, making room for her.

There hadn't been a point when he started caring about her, but it _had_ happened somewhere along the line. But then, when she needed him the most, he had shut down completely. Something he was really good at. If anything, he owed this to her.

"It sucked, but I learned to take care of myself at a really young age. Then the boyfriends started showing up. There were many of them and they came through frequently, and they brought the worst of it. My mom had always hit me-with liquor bottles, pill bottles, her fists, whatever-but what these guys did was...so much worse." He rubbed a hand across his brow, watching as Avery hesitantly took a long, slow drag on the joint and sat down at the end of the bed. "There were cigarette burns, real, true hits, but they also started to get a kick out of addicting _me_ to drugs. When Evelyn found me I was barely there at all. Physically and mentally. It took a long time for me to get out of that addiction and shortly after I got into another. That one was easier, though. Because I had done it before, maybe, but I think it mostly was having this family. See, when I first got here, they weren't really a family at all for me. They were strangers. I had to prove myself, so I spent a lot of time alone in my bedroom, fighting the pain inside of me. But then when I got re-addicted, they were there for me to smack me around when I was being an idiot."

He looked at Avery then, his brow furrowing as he watched her lower her gaze to the floor. It was only then, after hearing himself say the words, that he realized how wrong he had been. Avery was exactly like him; she needed the attention that he had needed when he first arrived at the Mercer household. He couldn't blame her for struggling and slipping. He had struggled, he had slipped, and then he had failed miserably. She only needed help.

"I'm sorry," Avery whispered, and when she looked up at him, her blue eyes were full of tears.

Jack swallowed, sitting up, "it's in the past now, just like it can be for you, too."

Avery stood suddenly, hugging her arms around herself. "I mean for dragging you back into everything. I make stupid mistakes without even realizing-it wasn't fair to bring you into something that was so painful to you." She walked to the door as Jack stood up, and then turned to look over her shoulder at him. "You should fix things with Bobby before it's too late because, trust me, there does come a point when it is _too late_."

Then she didn't even give Jack a chance to interrupt her, to tell her it would be okay. Her words felt like a blow to his stomach, causing him to sit back down as she left the room, the door swinging closed behind her.


End file.
